JPH04255391A - Recording material and image formation using same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recording material capable of conducting thermal recording haivng high resolution at high speed in a noncontact manner by laser beams, and to provide a method, in which thermal recording having high resolution at high spped is performed by laser beams. CONSTITUTION:In a recording material, in which at least a light absorbing layer, an adehsive layer and a sheet for peeling are formed successively onto a supporter, the recording material, in which said light absorbing layer contains microcapsules including at least a light absorbing substrance, a binder and a foaming agent being decomposed by the action of heat and generating a gas as core substance while said supporter and/or the sheet for peeling are made transparent, is provided, and an image forming method, in which the transparent side of said recording material is irradiated with laser beams and the sheet for peeling is peeled and a visible image is acquired, is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method using a laser beam, and more particularly to a recording material for converting laser beam energy into thermal energy for thermal recording, and a thermal recording method using the same.

0002

[Prior Art] Heat-sensitive recording in which a thermal head is closely scanned on the surface of a heat-sensitive recording material having a heat-sensitive coloring layer provided on a support, and a colored image is recorded by transmitting thermal energy directly to the heat-sensitive coloring layer or through a protective layer. The method is widely known and has been applied to facsimiles, printers, etc. However, in such a thermal recording method, since the thermal head is brought into close contact with the thermal recording material for scanning, the thermal head may wear out or components of the thermal recording material may adhere to the surface of the thermal head in the form of debris. As a result, a recorded image may not be obtained correctly, and the thermal head is likely to be destroyed.

[0003] Furthermore, the thermal recording method using such a thermal head has limitations in controlling the heating and cooling of the heating element at high speed and increasing the density of the heating element due to the structural characteristics of the thermal head. The drawback was that there were limits to high-speed recording, high-density, and high-quality recording.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the thermal recording method using a thermal head, it has been proposed to perform thermal recording on a thermal recording material in a non-contact manner at high speed and high density using a laser beam. (For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5
0-23617, JP 54-121140, JP 57-11090, JP 58-56890, JP 58-94494, JP 58-134791, JP 58- No. 145493, JP-A-59-8919
No. 2, JP-A-60-205182, JP-A-62-56
Publication No. 195).

However, in such a recording method using a laser beam, the thermosensitive coloring layer generally
Because it is difficult to absorb light in the visible and near-infrared regions, it is difficult to obtain the thermal energy necessary for coloring unless the laser output is considerably increased, making it extremely difficult to create a small and inexpensive device. there were.

[0006] Furthermore, many proposals have been made to make the heat-sensitive coloring layer efficiently absorb laser light, and generally it is possible to add a light-absorbing substance that matches the wavelength of the laser beam to the heat-sensitive coloring layer. It is being done. In this case, if the light-absorbing substance added is not white, the background of the recording material will be colored, resulting in low contrast and poor quality recording, which is not preferable. In general, many white light absorbing substances are inorganic compounds, but most of them have low light absorption efficiency. On the other hand, an organic compound with good light absorption efficiency and little coloration has not yet been developed.

[0007] Furthermore, Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-774 proposes a method in which microcapsules containing ink are applied to base paper, and strong light is irradiated to eject the ink in the capsules to record on the base paper. , the sensitivity is very low and it has not yet been realized.

[0008]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In other words, since the diffusion coefficient of a substance that diffuses through a thin polymer film generally increases only slowly as the temperature rises, sufficient dye can be oozed out by short-term heating with a laser beam. When using microcapsules made of a polymer wall that can be used to store dyes at room temperature, the dye gradually oozes out during storage at room temperature, making it unsuitable for practical use. When a capsule was used, very little dye oozed out after short-term heating with a laser beam, making recording itself impossible.

As a result of intensive studies to solve these drawbacks, the present inventors have adopted a peel-apart method in which a release sheet is provided on the surface of the recording layer of a recording material via an adhesive, and a foaming agent is added to the microcapsules. The present inventors have discovered that high-speed and high-resolution thermosensitive recording can be performed using a laser beam by incorporating the above, and have thus arrived at the present invention.

[0010] Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a recording material capable of non-contact thermal recording at high speed and high resolution using a laser beam. A second object of the present invention is to provide a method for performing high-speed and high-resolution thermal recording using a laser beam.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are to provide a recording material comprising at least a light absorbing layer, an adhesive layer and a release sheet sequentially provided on a support, wherein the light absorbing layer contains microcapsules containing as a core material at least a light-absorbing substance, a binder, and a blowing agent that decomposes under the action of heat and generates gas, and
A recording material characterized in that the support and/or the release sheet is transparent, and a visible image is obtained by irradiating the transparent side of the recording material with a laser beam and then peeling off the release sheet. This was achieved using a distinctive image forming method.

The light-absorbing substance that can be used in the present invention can be appropriately selected from known light-absorbing substances. Furthermore, these light absorbing substances can be used in combination to increase the absorption efficiency of the laser beam.

These light-absorbing substances include, for example, copper sulfate (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-94495), cyanine dyes (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-94495),
8-94494), benzenedithiol-based nickel complexes (JP-A-57-11090 and JP-A-54-12)
1140), inorganic metal salts (JP-A-58-14549)
3), metal oxides, metal hydroxides, silicates, sulfates, carbonates, nitrates, complex compounds, cyanines, polyenes, carbon black, etc. In addition, there are also metal oxides, metal hydroxides, silicates, sulfates, carbonates, nitrates, complex compounds, cyanines, polyenes, and carbon black. It is also possible to use colored dyes and pigments described in Japanese publications, as well as dyes and pigments used in the paper, fiber, and paint industries.

Specific examples of colored pigments include inorganic pigments such as chrome yellow, iron oxide pigments, molybdate orange, cadmium red, Prussian blue, zinc sulfide compounds, cadmium sulfide compounds, and silicate compounds. Examples of organic pigments include azo pigments such as Permanent Yellow R.
R), Hansa Yellow R
wR), metanitroaniline orange (Methani
troaniline Orange), Red Toner, Autol Orange, Pigment Orange R, Benzidine Yellow
), Vulcan First Yellow G (Vulcan F
ast Yellow G), Lake Red P (Lak
e Red P), Pyrazolone Red (Prazol
one Red) and Lithol Red
Red), etc. With anthraquinone pigments,
Indanthrene B
) and isodibenzatron violet.

Specific examples of colored dyes include safranin (
Safranine), rhodamine magenta (Rhod
amine Magenta), Alizarin Red (
Alizarine Red), Rhoduline Red (Rhoduline Red B), Chrysoidine (Chrysoidine), Acetamine Orange (
Acetamine Orange), Auramine, Quinolin
e), Eychrysin yellow (Eychrysin yellow)
e Yellow), First Light Yellow (F
ast Light Yellow), Stilbene Yellow, Azo Yellow, Methanil Yellow, Victoria Green, Anthraquinone Green ne
Green), Naphthol Green
Green), methylene blue, diazo blue (Di
azo Blue), naphthol blue (Naph
thol Blue), Fast Blue (Fast
Blue), Xylene Blue
ue), Methyst Violet (Methyst
Violet), Bismarck Brown (Bismar)
k Brown) and chrome brown (Chr
ome Brown), etc.

Carbon black is particularly preferred as the light-absorbing substance that can be used in the light-absorbing layer of the present invention. The carbon black used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but can be appropriately selected from among channel black, thermal black, furnace black, and the like. The average particle diameter of carbon black is preferably 100 μm or less.

Examples of organic solvents for dispersing these light-absorbing substances include phosphoric acid esters, phthalic acid esters, other carboxylic acid esters, carbonic acid esters, fatty acid amides, alkylated biphenyls, alkylated terphenyls, chlorinated paraffins, and alkyl esters. Naphthalene, diarylethane, etc. are used.

Specific examples include tricresyl phosphate, trioctyl phosphate, octyldiphenyl phosphate, tricyclohexyl phosphate, dibutyl phthalate, dioctyl phthalate, dilauryl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, butyl oleate, diethylene glycol dibenzoate, and sebacin. Dioctyl acid, dibutyl sebacate, dioctyl adipate, trioctyl trimellitate, acetyltriethyl citrate, octyl maleate, dibutyl maleate, propylene carbonate, diphenyl carbonate, isopropylbiphenyl, isoamyl biphenyl, chlorinated paraffin, diisopropylnaphthalene, 1, Examples include, but are not limited to, 1'-ditolylethane, 2,4-di-tertiary aminophenol, N,N'-dibutyl-2-butoxy-5-tertiary octylaniline, and the like.

In the present invention, higher fatty acids such as oleic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, etc. may be mixed with these organic solvents, or higher fatty acids may be used alone as the organic solvent. .

In addition to the above-mentioned light-absorbing substances, known pigments can be used in combination with the light-absorbing substance used in the present invention. Specific examples of pigments that can be used include metal particles such as cobalt, iron, and nickel, TiO2, BaO2, etc.
, NiO, Sb2O3, Cr2O3, Fe2
O4, Fe2O3, ZnO, CoO, Al2O
3, metal oxides such as CuO, MnO, composite oxides thereof, or mixtures thereof.

In the present invention, the binder encapsulated in the microcapsules as a core material is not particularly limited, but includes, for example, polyolefins, olefin copolymers, styrene-butadiene copolymers, epoxy resins, polyesters, rubbers, polyvinylpyrrolidone, Polyamide, coumaron-indene copolymer, methyl vinyl ether, maleic anhydride copolymer, polyamide, polyurethane, polyurea, acrylic ester polymer, methacrylic ester polymer, acrylic acid
Long chain alkyl methacrylate copolymers, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, mixtures thereof, and the like can be used. Among these, acrylic ester-based polymers, methacrylic ester-based polymers, and styrene-butadiene copolymers are preferred.

[0022] In the present invention, an oil-soluble solvent can be used to dissolve or swell the above-mentioned polymer, and as such an oil-soluble solvent, an organic solvent having a boiling point of 150°C or higher is preferable.

Specific examples of the above-mentioned oil-soluble solvents include phthalate esters (diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, etc.), aliphatic dicarboxylic acid esters (diethyl malonate, dimethyl oxalate, etc.), and phosphoric esters (triclemonate, etc.). diyl phosphate, tricylelyl phosphate, etc.), citric acid esters (o-acetyl triethyl citrate, tributyl citrate, etc.), benzoic acid esters (butyl benzoate, hexyl benzoate, etc.),
Fatty acid esters (hexadecyl myristate, dioctyl adipate, etc.), alkylnaphthalenes (methylnaphthalene, dimethylnaphthalene, monoisopropylnaphthalene, diisopropylnaphthalene, etc.), alkyldiphenyl ethers (o-, m-, p-methyldiphenyl ether, etc.), higher grade Amide compounds of fatty acids or aromatic sulfonic acids (N,N-dimethyllauramide, N-butylbenzenesulfonamide, etc.), trimellitic acid esters (trioctyl trimellitate, etc.), diarylalkanes (dimethylphenylphenylmethane, 1-phenyl-1-methylphenylethane, 1-dimethylphenyl-
1-phenylethane, 1-ethylphenyl-1-phenylethane, 1-isopropylphenyl-2-phenylethane, etc.) and having 8 to 30 carbon atoms and a degree of chlorination of 10 to 4
Examples include 0% by weight of chlorinated paraffins.

[0024] Furthermore, the above-mentioned high-boiling point solvent does not substantially dissolve or swell the above-mentioned polymer and has a boiling point of 100 to 100%.
An organic solvent in the range of 250° C. can also be used in combination. Specific examples of such organic solvents include aliphatic saturated hydrocarbons and mixtures containing these as main components.

The blowing agent used in the present invention that decomposes and generates gas under the action of heat is not particularly limited, but it decomposes upon heating and generates N2, NH3, CO, and CO2.
Examples include those that generate gas such as. Specific examples of such blowing agents include dinitrosopentamethylenetetramine, azodicarbonamide, 4,4'-oxybisbenzenesulfonylhydrazide, paratoluenesulfonylhydrazide, paratoluenesulfonylacetone hydrazone, hydrazodicarbonamide, azobis Examples include isobutyronitrile.

[0026] In the present invention, the composition of the core material to be encapsulated in microcapsules is preferably an oily composition containing at least a light-absorbing substance, a polymer as a binder, a high-boiling point solvent, a low-boiling point solvent, and the above-mentioned blowing agent. Particularly preferred.

Any of the interfacial polymerization method, internal polymerization method, and external polymerization method can be used to produce the microcapsules of the present invention, but in particular, microcapsules containing a light-absorbing substance, a binder, a blowing agent, etc. can be adopted. It is preferable to employ an emulsion polymerization method in which a core material is emulsified in an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, and then a wall of the polymer material is formed around the oil droplets. A reactant forming a polymeric substance is added to the interior of the oil droplet and/or to the exterior of the oil droplet.

Specific examples of the polymeric material include polyurethane, polyurea, polyamide, polyester, polycarbonate, urea-formaldehyde resin, melamine resin, polystyrene, styrene-methacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylate copolymer, and the like.

Preferred polymeric materials are polyurethanes, polyureas, polyamides, polyesters, polycarbonates, and particularly preferred are polyurethanes and polyureas. Two or more types of polymeric substances can also be used in combination. An embodiment using double-walled microcapsules of polyurea and polyamide or polyurethane and polyamide is a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention. Specific examples of the water-soluble polymer include gelatin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, and the like.

For example, when polyurea is used as a capsule wall material, polyisocyanates such as diisocyanates, triisocyanates, tetraisocyanates, and polyisocyanate prepolymers, polyamines such as diamines, triamines, and tetraamines, and amino groups are used. It is known that microcapsule walls can be easily formed by reacting a prepolymer containing two or more of the following, piperazine and its derivatives, polyols, etc., in an aqueous solvent by an interfacial polymerization method.

[0031] Furthermore, for example, a composite wall made of polyurea and polyamide or a composite wall made of polyurethane and polyamide is prepared by adjusting the pH of the emulsifying medium serving as the reaction solution using, for example, polyisocyanate and acid chloride or polyamine and polyol. It can be prepared by heating. For details on the manufacturing method of these composite walls made of polyurea and polyamide, please refer to JP-A-5
It is described in Japanese Patent No. 8-66948.

[0032] When coating the coating liquid containing the microcapsules etc. prepared as described above on a transparent or opaque support, a known coating means using a water-based or organic solvent-based coating liquid is used. In this case, in order to safely and uniformly apply the light-absorbing layer and maintain the strength of the coating film, the present invention uses methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, starches, gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, carboxy-modified polyvinyl alcohol. , polyacrylamide, polystyrene and its copolymers, polyester and its copolymers, polyethylene and its copolymers, epoxy resins, acrylate and methacrylate resins and their copolymers, polyurethane resins, polyamide resins, etc., together with microcapsules. They can also be used together.

[0033] The transparent support used in the present invention preferably has high transparency, shows no absorption at the wavelength of the irradiated laser beam, and has dimensional stability without being deformed by heat generated during laser irradiation. . The thickness of the support is 10
Those with a diameter of μm to 200 μm are used.

Examples of such transparent supports include:
Polyester films such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, cellulose derivative films such as cellulose triacetate films, polyolefin films such as polystyrene films, polypropylene films, and polyethylene films, polyimide films, polyvinyl chloride films, polyvinylidene chloride films,
Examples include polyacrylic film and polycarbonate film, and these can be used alone or in combination.

In this case, the release sheet may be transparent or opaque. On the other hand, examples of the opaque support for the recording material include paper, synthetic paper, an aluminum vapor-deposited base, and the transparent support coated with a pigment or the like. In addition, in this case, the release sheet must be transparent,
In order for the laser beam to be irradiated from the release sheet side and efficiently absorbed by the heat-sensitive layer, the opaque support of the recording material is preferably one that has high laser beam reflectivity. The support used in the present invention is particularly preferably a polyester film subjected to heat-resistant treatment and antistatic treatment.

In the present invention, in order to prevent the entire light-absorbing layer from peeling off from the support, an undercoat is applied to the support before coating the light-absorbing layer containing microcapsules, light-absorbing substances, etc. on the support. It is desirable to provide layers. As the undercoat layer, acrylic ester copolymer, polyvinylidene chloride, SBR, aqueous polyester, etc. can be used, and the film thickness is preferably 0.1 to 0.5 μm.

Further, pigments, waxes, hardeners, etc. may be added to the light-absorbing layer, if necessary. The light-absorbing layer is preferably coated so that the light-absorbing material is 0.1 to 10 g, and the thickness of the layer after drying is 1 to 10 μm.

[0038] The adhesive that can be used in the adhesive layer used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but it is preferably one that has adhesive properties for both the release sheet and the light absorption layer. Such an adhesive is known as Bemm (C,W Bemm).
It is as described in detail in the Adhesive Handbook by J.D. Els), and specifically, it is composed of an elastic body and a tackifier.

Specific examples of the above elastic body include SBR, N
Examples include BR, butyl rubber, acrylic rubber, cyclized rubber, polyvinyl ether, natural rubber (isoprene), synthetic rubber (chloroprene), recycled rubber, and polyisobutylene, but especially natural rubber, SBR, recycled rubber, and mixtures thereof. is preferred.

Specific examples of the tackifier include rosin, polyterpene, ester gum, coumaroindene resin, hydrogenated rosin, phenolic resin, vinyl chloride, acrylic ester, vinyl acetate, or their copolymers, polyvinyl butyral and methyl vinyl ether. and maleic anhydride copolymers, acrylamide, silicone-based siloxane derivatives, polyesters, polyolefins,
Examples include resins such as polyurethane, polyether, epoxy, and unsaturated polyester, but polyterpene, hydrogenated rosin, and mixtures thereof are particularly preferred. It is preferable that the adhesive be applied in an amount of 1 g/m2 in terms of solid content.

The release sheet is not limited in any way and can be appropriately selected from transparent or opaque supports similar to the support of the recording material. The laser beam used in the present invention has wavelength ranges in the visible, near-infrared, and infrared regions. Specific examples thereof include a helium-neon laser, an argon laser, a carbon dioxide laser, a YAG laser, and a semiconductor laser.

In the present invention, the light absorbing layer and the release sheet are in close contact with each other due to the adhesive layer during laser beam irradiation, so that the laser beam can be efficiently absorbed. Therefore, it is not necessary to employ a complicated mechanism such as irradiating a laser while applying a load and bringing the sheet into close contact, unlike in the case of a transfer method in which an image recorded on a recording layer of a recording material is transferred to a receiving sheet.

The microcapsules of the present invention have good laser beam absorption efficiency because they contain a liquid in which a light-absorbing substance is dispersed. Moreover, this microcapsule wall is
At room temperature, the microcapsule is made of a dense polymer that does not substantially release the encapsulated liquid, and when heated by laser beam irradiation, the foaming agent decomposes, gas is generated, and the pressure inside the microcapsule increases. Releases inclusions well.

Therefore, the core material is not released outside the microcapsules during storage, and the light absorbing agent can be released with low energy during printing, and since it is a peel-apart method, it can be used as a release sheet. A negative or positive image can be simultaneously formed on each of the light absorbing layers. Furthermore, since the present invention utilizes the transmission diffusion phenomenon of light-absorbing substances, color development does not progress rapidly in response to temperature changes, but appears gradually, making it possible to record with gradation.

[0045]

[Effects of the Invention] The recording material of the present invention not only uses a light-absorbing substance such as carbon black as a coloring material, but also has a release sheet provided on the surface of the recording layer of the recording material via an adhesive layer. It uses a peel-apart method, which simplifies the thermal recording mechanism, and uses a foaming agent so that light-absorbing substances such as carbon black can easily pass through the microcapsule walls during heating. Positive and negative images of sufficiently high speed and high quality can be obtained by one recording.

Furthermore, since the recording method of the present invention is performed in a non-contact manner using a laser beam, troubles such as sticking that occur in the conventional method using a thermal head do not occur, and the recording method is a thermal recording method. This method makes it easy to make the recording device smaller and lighter.

[0047]

[Examples] Examples are shown below, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Note that "parts" indicating the amount added represent "parts by weight."

[Example 1]

Polyisobutyl methacrylate (trade name:
Acrybase, MM-2002: manufactured by Fujikura Kasei Co., Ltd.)
1-isopropylphenyl-2- containing 50% by weight
40 g of a solution of phenylethane and Isopar H (manufactured by Exxon Chemical Co., Ltd., trade name of aliphatic saturated hydrocarbon mixture) mixed at a weight ratio of 6:5 and acidic carbon black (trade name: Laben 5000 pH 2.8: Columbian). Carbon Nippon Co., Ltd.)) was kneaded and dispersed in an automatic mortar to prepare a dispersion.

On the other hand, to 20 g of ethyl acetate, 20 g of an addition compound of 3 moles of xylylene diisocyanate and 1 mole of trimethylolpropane (trade name: Takenate D110-N, manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited) and paratoluenesulfonyl hydrazide (trade name: A solution was prepared in which 5 g of Cellmic H (manufactured by Sankyo Kasei Co., Ltd.) was dissolved. The obtained solution and the dispersion liquid were mixed to prepare an oily phase mixed liquid (a mixture of the core material and the capsule wall material). The above solutions were prepared while maintaining the liquid temperature at 25° C. or lower.

Next, 0.2 g of diethylenetriamine was added to 200 g of a 4% by weight aqueous solution of methyl cellulose (degree of methoxy substitution: 1.8, average molecular weight: 15,000) to prepare an aqueous medium, and the mixture was cooled to 15°C. The oily phase mixed liquid was emulsified and dispersed in the obtained aqueous medium to obtain an oil-in-water emulsion mixed solution in which the average size of oil droplet particles in the emulsion was about 12 μm.

About 10 minutes after preparing the emulsion, 50 g of a 2.5% aqueous solution of diethylenetriamine was gradually added dropwise, followed by stirring in a constant temperature bath at 60° C. for 3 hours to encapsulate the emulsion. The obtained capsule liquid was subjected to corona discharge treatment and then placed on a 75 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate sheet support coated with SBR latex at a solid content of 0.5 g/m2 so that the solid content was 5 g/m2. A light-absorbing sheet was obtained by coating. On the light absorption layer of this light absorption sheet, the composition shown in Table 1 below is applied.

[Table 1] Natural rubber:

60g SBR:

40g
Recycled rubber:

5g polyterpene (melting point 1
15℃):
2g hydrogenated rosin triethyl glycol ester:
1g polyterpene (melting point 7
0℃):
48g hydrogenated rosin glycerin ester:
13g

After applying the adhesive consisting of the following to a solid content of 1 g/m2, a 40 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate release sheet was applied in layers to form the recording material of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as recording sheet). Obtained.

When the recording sheet thus obtained was irradiated with a semiconductor laser beam (GaAs bonding laser) in an imagewise manner from the light-absorbing sheet side and the release sheet was peeled off, the area irradiated with the laser beam absorbed light. Only the layer remained and a positive image was formed on the support, while the portion of the light absorbing layer that was not irradiated with the laser beam was transferred together with the adhesive onto the release sheet to form a negative image.

The output of the laser beam is 1 on the surface of the recording material.
The energy was adjusted to be 80 mJ/cm2 in ms. When the reflection density of the positive image portion was measured using a Macbeth densitometer, it was 1.42.

[0055]

Example 2 An image was obtained in exactly the same manner as in Example 1, except that a polyethylene terephthalate sheet coated with aluminum was used as a release sheet. In this case, the output of the laser beam is 70 mJ for 1 ms on the surface of the recording material.
Although the energy was lowered to 1/cm2, it was possible to obtain an image with the same density as in Example 1.

[0056]

Comparative Example 1 An image was obtained in exactly the same manner as in Example 1, except that Cermaq H was not used as a foaming agent. In this case, the output of the laser beam is 10 ms for 1 ms on the surface of the recording material.
It was not possible to obtain an image with the same density as in Example 1 unless the energy was increased to 0/cm2.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A recording material comprising at least a light-absorbing layer, an adhesive layer, and a release sheet sequentially provided on a support, wherein the light-absorbing layer is formed by at least a light-absorbing substance, a binder, and a release sheet by the action of heat. 1. A recording material comprising microcapsules containing a foaming agent that decomposes to generate gas as a core material, and wherein the support and/or the release sheet are transparent. 2. An image forming method, which comprises irradiating the transparent side of the recording material according to claim 1 with a laser beam and then peeling off a release sheet to obtain a visible image.