JPH047997B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Fields] The present invention is applicable to bicycles used in various sports competitions, name tags and nameplates for various organizations such as schools, companies, government offices, etc., name tags for individuals, timetable display boards for trains and buses, station names, etc. This product relates to various information boards, town name and street number display boards, and various indoor and outdoor signboards. [Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventionally, the above-mentioned display bodies all have a unified format but have to be manufactured in many different types, each with different contents. It was a typical example of production. Therefore, in the past, it was common to carry out operations manually, but automation has become increasingly desirable in order to respond to soaring prices due to rising labor costs and the need to shorten the period from ordering to delivery. . For this reason, attempts have been made to form a printed image on a label or paper using a computer or word processor and use this as a display, but none of these attempts have resulted in a good product. One of the reasons for this is that conventional handwritten displays draw images on resin sheets using paint that is durable against rain, outside air, and friction, whereas when using a computer, etc. for,
This was because the printer did not have an ink that had a fastness comparable to that of conventional paints and had the ability to form an image on resin sheets. Therefore, in order to provide this kind of fastness, we tried laminating the surface of the sheet with the printed image on it with resin, but with conventional methods, the heat and pressure caused during lamination caused the ink to flow and the printed image to be damaged. It became deformed and could no longer function as a display. As a result of the above-described trial and error, the present inventor adopted laminate and developed a display board that has various fastnesses and has a clear impression. [Means and effects for solving the problems] First, the invention relating to the display of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the first invention) is such that the surface portion of the receptor is heated to a temperature lower than the heating temperature during lamination. This ink is made of a plastic resin and employs a structure in which the vehicle of the heat-melting transfer colored ink (hereinafter referred to as transfer colored ink) contains a resin component that is compatible with the thermoplastic resin. With this configuration, the transfer colored ink fixed on the receptor is compatible with and integrated with the receptor. This integration occurs mainly at the point of contact with the receptor during printing, but since at least the surface of the receptor is made of thermoplastic resin with a softening point lower than the heating temperature during lamination, the ink is absorbed by the heating during lamination. The entire printed image becomes integrated with the receptor, so even if it is subjected to heat and pressure during lamination, the ink integrated with the receptor will be heated to a high temperature higher than its thermal melting temperature. Despite this, it is possible to maintain a clear image form that is almost the same as that at the time of forming the printed image. In addition, in the invention related to the manufacturing method of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the second invention), the transfer colored ink of the thermal transfer ink sheet is transferred in an arbitrary image form to form a print image on the receptor, and then the image is formed on the receptor. When manufacturing a display body with a surface protective film by laminating a film on the surface under heat and pressure, at least the surface portion of the receptor is made of a thermoplastic resin, and the vehicle of the transfer coloring ink is compatible with the thermoplastic resin. An arbitrary impression is formed on the receptor using a thermal printer using a thermal transfer ink sheet containing the above-mentioned ink, and then a film is placed on the surface of the receptor while heating at a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the receptor. It adopts a laminated structure. With this configuration, it has the same effect as the first invention, and since a thermal transfer method is used as the image forming system, it is easy to form a clear image, and it is easy to use with computers etc. Since information processing ability can be used directly, it has become possible to automate the production of this type of display, which was difficult to automate due to high-mix, low-volume production. It has now become possible to produce a beautiful display that costs almost nothing compared to the previous one. [Example] First, the receptor used in the present invention will be explained. The thermoplastic resin used for the receptor is a resin that is compatible with the transfer coloring ink vehicle of the thermal transfer ink sheet and has a softening point lower than the heating temperature during lamination. They may be selected accordingly. Examples of such resins include polyamide resins (softening points of about 50 to 120°C are suitable), polyurethane resins, and polyester resins (molecular weight 2 x 10 ⁴ to
3×10 ⁴ ), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (suitably has a softening point of about 50 to 90°C), butyral resin (e.g. polyvinyl butyral), vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin Resin, low density polyethylene resin, syndiotactic-1,2-polybutadiene resin (melting point 75~
90° C.), styrene-butadiene copolymer, vinyl chloride resin, chlorinated polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, etc. can be used as appropriate. When these resins are used, it may be one kind or a mixture of two or more of these resins, or a mixture of these resins as the main component and other resin components or additives. The receptor used in the present invention can be obtained not only by forming the resin component itself into a sheet, but also by applying the resin component to the surface of cloth, paper, or a sheet material made of other resin at an appropriate thickness. It may be something that has been done. The sheet-like material of the resin component itself and the coating thickness of the resin component may be about 10 to 100 μm. Further, an adhesive may be applied to the back surface of the receptor to make it easier to adhere to other objects. Instead of applying an adhesive, the receptor itself may be made of a heat-fusible resin. In addition, when installing the receptor in the printer, the back side of the receptor has heat fusion properties to the platen, or is coated with an adhesive.
Alternatively, if it is flexible and there is a risk of it getting wrapped around the platen, it may be a good idea to releasably attach a mount such as release paper to the back side. Next, the thermal transfer ink sheet will be explained. The thermal transfer ink sheet has a thermal transfer ink layer provided on the surface of a base made of thin high-density paper such as ordinary condenser paper or glassine paper, or a resin film such as polyester, polyethylene, or polycarbonate. The ink layer may be provided on the base by a conventional method such as hot melt coating or solvent coating using water or an organic solvent. A silicone resin or other conventionally known stick prevention layer may be provided on the back surface of the base, if necessary. In addition, the thermal transfer ink layer is a one-time type that completely transfers the selected area with one use.
It may be of any type, such as a multi-type that can be used many times without being completely transferred in one transfer, but the colored ink that is melt-transferred to the receptor is It is necessary to contain a resin that is compatible with the resin component constituting the part. The compatible resin component is preferably one similar to the above-mentioned thermoplastic resin and the same kind as that constituting the surface portion of the receptor, but even if it is a different kind, it has a similar solubility parameter. You can use it as you see fit. It is appropriate that such a resin component is contained in a weight proportion of about 3/20 or more of the total amount of the vehicle of the transfer colored ink. Examples of compatible combinations of the different resins include the combinations shown in Table 1. In each combination in Table 1, the compatible resin components in the ink vehicle may be used alone or as a mixture of two or more. It goes without saying that incompatible resins may be used as the resin component of the ink vehicle within a range that does not impair the purpose of the present invention.

【table】

[Table] Refers to resin components with properties.
As the vehicle for the transfer colored ink, various other usual waxes, thermoplastic resins, and viscosity modifiers such as oil can be used as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. The miscibility and compatibility, viscosity, melting point, etc. may be appropriately adjusted to maintain the clarity of printing. Further, as for the coloring agent, ordinary dyes and pigments may be appropriately selected and used. The viscosity of the transfer colored ink is suitably about 2 poise or more at 100°C. In the one-time type, the thermal transfer ink layer may be composed of not only one layer but also two or more layers.
For example, if the colored ink layer has poor releasability from the base during transfer, a layer made of wax or the like that has an extremely low viscosity during transfer heating may be provided between the colored ink layer and the base, or a layer made of silicone may be provided between the colored ink layer and the base. A non-transfer layer containing a removable material such as resin may be provided. Furthermore, a transfer layer containing no colorant may be provided on the surface of the colored ink layer to prevent the colored ink from being accidentally transferred to the receiver. As for the multi-type, one having a conventionally known structure can be used as appropriate, and one in which a non-transferable resin sponge layer is impregnated with a transfer colored ink is preferable. Next, the laminating film will be explained. The film may be any film as long as it has the property of being fused to the surface of the receptor by heating and pressurizing, and even if it does not itself have heat fusion properties,
It is only necessary that the surface of the receptor has heat-fusibility to the film. As examples, hard or soft vinyl chloride resin films, polycarbonate films, polyester films, acrylic resin films, tetrafluoroethylene copolymer films, difluoroethylene copolymer films, etc. can be used as appropriate. Furthermore, the film is not limited to a single-layer film; for example, a multilayer film having an acrylic resin layer, a tetrafluoroethylene copolymer layer on the surface, and a soft or hard vinyl chloride resin layer on the back surface may be used. good. At least one of the laminate film and the receptor may be transparent, but usually the laminate film is transparent so that the printed image can be seen from the side of the laminate film. When a transparent laminate film is used, a sequential character image can be formed on the receptor. The receiver may be made transparent so that the printed image can be viewed from the side of the receiver. In this case, it is sufficient to form a print image of reverse characters. Weather resistance can be further improved by mixing an ultraviolet absorber or the like into any or all of the laminate film, the receptor, and the base described below. Next, a specific example of the method for manufacturing the display body of the present invention will be shown. The first method (see Figure 1) inputs the pattern signal processed by the personal computer 1 to the thermal transfer printer 2,
The thermal transfer ink sheet B is placed on the surface of the receptor A.
Print the pattern using Next, the receptor A is inserted into a laminator 3 together with the transparent film C for lamination and laminated at a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the thermoplastic resin of the receptor A to obtain a display D. After the lamination, the display body D may be attached to the base E on the side of the receptor A, if necessary. If the receiver A has heat-adherability to the base E during this adhesion, the heat press machine 4 may be used to fuse the receiver A to the base E on the side of the receiver A. As the base E, an appropriate material may be used depending on the purpose of the display, such as metal, synthetic resin,
Boards of materials such as wood, natural or synthetic fibers, cloth, etc. are used. Incidentally, during lamination, the film C may be superimposed on the front surface of the receptor A, and the back surface may be superimposed on the base E and bonded under heat, thereby laminating and fixing to the base at the same time. In addition, in the case of a display body D obtained by using a transparent receptor A, forming an imprint of reverse characters on it, and laminating a film C (which may be opaque) thereon, Attach base E to the side. Second Method (See Figure 2) Alternatively, it is possible to use hot wire to form an image on the receptor without using a printer. In this method, a document F is created in which a predetermined pattern is imaged with a substance having a photothermal conversion function such as carbon, and the document F is transferred to the back side of a thermal transfer ink sheet B overlaid on a receptor A, or to a thin receptor. If so, the ink layer is placed on the back side of the receptor and irradiated with light such as infrared rays, thereby transferring the ink layer to the receptor in the form of an image formed by the photothermal conversion material. The following operating method may be the same as the first method. When using this method, there is no need to insert the receptor into the printer, so you can use a base fixed to the receptor in advance, or a material or cloth that is hard at room temperature or thick and has the function of a base. Can be used for receptors. Note that even if it is difficult to use with a normal printer, it is possible to print by using a small printer that moves manually or automatically on a desktop. According to the present invention, when a laminating film C is laminated on a receptor A having an ink image I obtained by transfer as shown in FIG. 3, heating during lamination, as shown in FIG.
By applying pressure, the ink image I becomes an ink image I' integrated with the thermoplastic resin on the surface of the receptor A. This is because the thermoplastic resin on the surface of receptor A has a softening point lower than the heating temperature during lamination, and the colored ink vehicle contains a resin component that is compatible with at least the surface of receptor A. It is. Therefore, the ink image I on the receptor A does not flow during lamination as in the conventional case, and as a result, a display body with a clear printed image is obtained. Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to Examples. Examples 1 to 6 Images were formed using a commercially available thermal printer on the receptors shown in Table 2 using the thermal transfer ink sheets shown in Table 2. Then, using a commercially available laminator, the transparent film shown in Table 3 was laminated on the image printing side of the receptor at the temperature shown in Table 3. Next, the base shown in Table 3 was heat-sealed to the receiver side of the obtained laminate (excluding Example 3) using a commercially available heat press machine. In any of Examples 1 to 6, the printed image did not run during lamination, and a display body with a clear printed image was obtained. It should be noted that when the thermal transfer ink sheet used in Example 1 was used to print on the receptor used in Example 5, the printed image ran during lamination and became illegible.

【table】

【table】

[Table] [Effects of the Invention] In the first invention, the thermoplastic resin on at least the surface portion of the receptor has a softening point lower than the heating temperature during lamination, and the thermoplastic resin and the transfer coloring ink vehicle have a softening point lower than the heating temperature during lamination. Since the film is compatible with the resin component, when the film is laminated on the image forming surface of the receptor, the image is integrated with the surface of the receptor without running away, and as a result, the surface protective film has a clear image. An attached display body is obtained. In the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, by forming an image on the receptor by a thermal transfer method using a thermal printer, it is possible to automate the production of display bodies, which are high-mix, low-volume products. It is possible to manufacture beautiful display bodies with good quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the display body manufacturing method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing another embodiment of the display body manufacturing method of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a transfer diagram. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state of the print image after a film is laminated on the receiver shown in FIG. 3. FIG. Main symbols in the drawings: A...Receptor, B...Thermal transfer ink sheet, C...Laminating film, D...
...Display body, I...Print image, 2...Thermal printer, 3
...Laminator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A film is laminated under heat and pressure on the image forming surface of a receptor, on which an image is formed by transferring the heat-melting transfer colored ink of a thermal transfer ink sheet in an arbitrary image form. The display body is provided with a surface protective film, and at least the surface portion of the receptor is made of a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than the heating temperature during lamination, and the transfer coloring ink vehicle is compatible with the thermoplastic resin. A display body with a surface protective film characterized by containing a certain resin component. 2. The display body with a surface protective film according to claim 1, wherein the film is a transparent film. 3. The display body with a surface protective film according to claim 2, wherein the receptor is a thin flexible sheet, and a release paper is adhered to the back surface of the receptor. 4. The display body with a surface protective film according to claim 3, wherein the release paper is adhered to the back surface of the receptor via an adhesive layer. 5. Claim 2 or 3, wherein the sheet constituting the receptor has heat-fusibility to a material selected from the group consisting of metal, synthetic resin, wood, and fiber. Display body with surface protection film. 6. Claims 2, 3, 4, or 5, wherein the receptor is fixed on its back side to a base selected from the group consisting of a metal plate, a synthetic resin plate, a wooden board, and a cloth. A display body with a surface protective film as described in .