JPH05165205A - Photosensitive element and image forming method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To directly form a color proof by a laser beam modulated by a digital image signal. CONSTITUTION:The photosensitive element 11 having a photosensitive layer 13 which exhibits tacky adhesiveness at the time of non-exposing to active rays and exhibits non-tacky adhesiveness after exposing on a base 12 and having a layer 14 which substantially consists of a nonphotosensitive polymer and has <=80 deg.C softening temp. by a Vicat method between the photosensitive layer 13 and the base 12 and a toner element having a toner layer (a') contg. a color material having a hue (a) and a binder on a base are used. A latent image is formed on the photosensitive layer 13 by exposing the active rays imagewise to this layer. The photosensitive layer 13 formed with the latent image is brought into contact with the toner layer (a') having the hue (a) in a face-to-face relation. The toner element and the photosensitive element 11 are then parted from each other to transfer the part of the toner layer corresponding to the non-exposed part of the photosensitive layer 13 to the photosensitive layer 13 and to allow the part of the toner layer corresponding to the exposed part of the photosensitive layer 13 to remain on the base for the toner layer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multicolor image forming method by a dry developing method. The method of the present invention is a method of directly obtaining a color proof from a digital image signal by laser recording (Direct Digital C).
color Proof: abbreviated as DDCP), and particularly useful for producing a multicolor display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of graphic arts, printing plates are printed using a set of color separation films from a color original. Generally, an error check in the disassembly process and a necessity check of color correction are performed. As a material for this color proof,
It is said that it is preferable to use a pigment as a coloring material together with the image formation on the actual printing paper because of its high similarity to the printed matter.
Further, in addition to a high resolving power that enables a high reproducibility of a halftone image and a high process stability, a dry proof production method that does not use a developing solution is required in recent years.

As a conventional color printing proofing method,
There is a method of proof-printing using a printing proofing machine to perform color proofing. However, this method requires time and labor, requires a high degree of skill, and has a limited reliability.

On the other hand, in place of these printing methods, various proofreading methods by photographic methods have been developed as a more convenient and simple method. A color proofing method using a photopolymer (prepress proof) is a widely used color proofing method based on these photographic methods. In the case of a photopolymerization system, which is a typical system of photopolymers, many methods described below are put to practical use for the conventional process of exposing using an intermediate film by a photographic method as a mask. In order to obtain a high-quality color proof, it is generally necessary to reproduce a halftone dot image of 150 lines / inch or more, but with this method, the resolution is basically high enough. Further, most of the conventional photopolymerization initiators are exposed to the near-ultraviolet region, but on the other hand, as disclosed in JP-A-54-155292, a spectral sensitizer which extends the wavelength range of the photosensitive light to the visible region. Has been developed to date. Therefore, it is relatively easy to realize high recording sensitivity for a laser having a visible light wavelength such as an argon ion laser or a helium cadmium laser.

Here, due to the recent popularization of computerized systems in the pre-printing process (prepress field), shortening the process, and reducing the consumption of consumables such as films, it is not necessary to use intermediate materials such as lith films. There is an increasing demand for materials and recording systems that produce color proofs directly from digital image signals. In order to obtain a high-quality color proof, it is generally necessary to reproduce a halftone dot image of 150 lines / inch or more as described above. for that reason,
To create a high quality proof from a digital signal,
It is preferable to use a laser beam that can be modulated by a digital signal and can narrow down the recording light as a recording head. The recording material has a high resolving power capable of reproducing halftone dots and a high recording sensitivity to the laser light. Is required. However, an essential problem is that a material capable of directly recording a digital signal and having a quality for practical use has not been developed yet.

The above-mentioned photopolymerization system has a high potential for digital image recording in terms of resolution and laser recording sensitivity, but it has not yet been put to practical use. The following is an overview of the prior art of photographic multicolor image recording using a photopolymerizable material, and presents the problems in light of the object of the present invention.

As a conventional proofing method for color printing by a photographic method, there are an overlay method and a surprint method. The overlay method is a method of calibrating by preparing multiple color proofing sheets with separated images of each color on a transparent support and stacking these sheets (the obtained one is called a color test sheet). Is. This overlay method is simple and inexpensive, and has the advantage that it can be used for continuous inspection by overlaying only two or three colors each time, but the overlay of synthetic resin sheets makes the color test sheet slightly dark, In addition, the incident light is reflected from some sheets to give gloss, and therefore, the impression received from the color test sheet is very different from that of the printed matter by the printing press.

The surprint method, on the other hand, is the superposition of several colored images on a single support, for which purpose various colored layers are provided on a sheet of opaque base or the corresponding toner. Are sequentially provided on the opaque base. This superposition method has the advantage that the color density is not affected by the synthetic resin base, and has the unique advantage that it is easy to use pigments that are the same or have similar hues as the pigments used in printing inks as coloring materials. There is also
It has become widely used.

As an example of this method, a photosensitive transfer material having a release layer made of an organic polymer, a color material layer and a photosensitive layer sequentially laminated on a temporary support is imagewise exposed and then wet-developed. Thus, a method of forming a colored image on the release layer and then transferring the colored image together with the release layer to an arbitrary support (permanent support) using an adhesive is already known (Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-46). No. 15326, Japanese Patent Publication Sho 49-44
No. 1). This method has an advantage that it can be used in various operations such as overlay proofing and surprinting as a color proof, but in order to sequentially transfer each color onto a paper support having poor dimensional stability, It is difficult to maintain the registration accuracy of each color, and the mechanical strength of the finished image is weak.

As a method for improving the above-mentioned drawbacks, a method of temporarily transferring an image onto a temporary image-receiving sheet (image-receiving element) before transferring the image onto a permanent support is applied to the applicant of the present invention. 59-97140. That is, in this method, a temporary image receiving element having an image receiving layer made of a photopolymerizable material provided on a support is prepared, and the image of each color is temporarily transferred onto the temporary image receiving element before being transferred onto the permanent support. Transfer the image of each color to. Then, a step of re-transferring onto the permanent support and then performing overall exposure to cure the transferred photopolymerizable image-receiving layer is included. According to this method, alignment and transfer of each color image can be performed on a support such as polyethylene terephthalate, which has high dimensional stability, so that both alignment accuracy and quality stability are improved, and hardness is improved. Since the final image is protected by the large photo-curable layer, it also has an advantage that the mechanical strength of the image is excellent.

However, in principle, this method has an essential problem of the wet development method. Further, from the viewpoint of laser recording suitability, if a dye sensitizer that spectrally sensitizes in the visible to infrared region is used, recording is possible in principle, but the photosensitive layer and the color material layer are Since they are the same or in contact with each other and both are transferred to the image receiving layer, the hue of the obtained image is greatly changed due to the coloring sensitizer, and there is a problem that it cannot be put to practical use.

Many multicolor image forming methods have been proposed in the past, which have solved the drawbacks of the wet development method found in the above-mentioned methods, and some of them have been widely put into practical use. Examples thereof are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,060,024, 3,582,327, 3,620,726, and the like. In these methods, a support layer and at least one addition polymerization are used. A tacky photopolymerizable replication material consisting of a photopolymerizable layer containing a possible monomer and a photopolymerization initiator is cured by imagewise exposure and loses its tackiness. This latent image is then visualized by applying a suitable powdered toner material. The toner adheres only to the unexposed tacky areas, but can be removed from the exposed non-tacky image areas after application. This method is a dry developing method that does not require a developing solution, and is also widely used for proof printing using a color separation film because of its simplicity. However, since the powdery toner is handled, the area around the work is easily soiled, and the method of applying / removing the toner tends to vary from person to person, and improvement is strongly desired.

As a method for improving the method using the above-mentioned tacky photopolymerizable photosensitive layer, a method of forming a toner into a film is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-63-41847 and JP-A-2.
-14985. In these methods, as in the above-mentioned method, the photosensitive layer that exhibits tackiness in the unexposed state and loses tackiness by exposure / curing is composed of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photoinitiator, and the photosensitive layer together with the support is used. , It is used by being laminated on the receiver base such as paper. The latent image exposed by imagewise exposure and peeling of the photosensitive layer support is brought into contact with a film-shaped toner provided on another support, and the toner is transferred by being heated and / or pressurized, It is developed. Of the two publications mentioned above, the former is characterized by mixing polymers which are incompatible with each other as a binder for the toner layer, and the latter is also selected the thermal and mechanical properties of the binder polymer for the toner layer. To improve the obtained image quality. These two methods all improve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the method using a powder toner, are excellent in printed matter approximation (pigment image formation on printing paper), and are capable of dry development, and have quality stability. Therefore, it can be said that the method is remarkably preferable as compared with the conventional method.

However, the methods using these film-formed toners still have problems to be solved. First of all, on a paper support having inferior dimensional stability, the alignment of the image exposure of the photosensitive layer is repeated, so that the misalignment of each hue image is likely to occur. Also, the final image has low mechanical strength, so if you try to give it scratch resistance, adhesion resistance, etc.,
It was necessary to add complicated steps such as laminating a protective layer on the final image.

Further, in order to directly obtain a high-quality color proof from a digital image signal, which is the object of the present invention, without passing through an intermediate film, the present system has a basic limitation. The above-mentioned JP-A-63-418
47 and the method described in JP-A-2-176753, if laser recording is simply performed, the photoinitiator described in JP-A-54-155292 and the visible light such as an argon laser can be used. It can be realized by combining lasers. However, initiators longer than the visible range have strong absorption in the visible range, and thus the photopolymerizable photosensitive layer containing these initiators cannot avoid coloring. As a result, when laser recording and image formation were to be carried out according to the methods disclosed in these publications, the image and the coloring by the initiator were mixed, and the originally colorless portion was strongly colored, which was practically used. It is difficult to serve.

An excellent method for eliminating these drawbacks and capable of forming a multicolor image by laser recording is as follows.
It is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-272652. This method comprises a photosensitive element having a photosensitive layer which is tacky when exposed to actinic rays and which is not tacky after exposure on a support,
Using a toner element having a toner layer (a ') containing a coloring material having a hue (a) and a binder on a support, the photosensitive layer is imagewise exposed to actinic rays to form a latent image. After the photosensitive layer on which the latent image is formed is brought into contact with the toner layer (a ′) having the hue (a) in a face-to-face relationship, the toner element and the photosensitive element are separated from each other. Then, the portion of the toner layer corresponding to the non-exposed portion of the photosensitive layer is transferred to the photosensitive layer, and the portion of the toner layer corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer is left on the toner layer support. Then, the adhesive surface of the image receiving element having an image receiving layer having a surface having adhesiveness with the toner layer on a support is provided on the toner layer surface of the toner element where the toner layer remains corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer. After contacting in a face-to-face relationship, the image receiving element and the toner element are separated from each other to transfer the toner layer to the image receiving element. By repeating this process a plurality of times using toner layers having different hues, a multicolor image can be obtained.

However, even in this method, if a foreign substance is mixed between the photosensitive layer and the toner layer when they are brought into contact with each other face-to-face, a gap is generated between the photosensitive layer and the toner layer, and the image quality is deteriorated. I have something to do.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive element having a low manufacturing cost for recording a multicolor image which is dry and has high image quality and excellent quality stability, and an image forming method using the same. In particular, it is to provide a method for directly forming a color proof having a high degree of similarity to a printed matter by using laser light modulated by a digital image signal.

[0019]

The objects of the present invention have been achieved by the following photosensitive element and an image forming method using the photosensitive element. That is,

Shows tackiness when exposed to actinic rays,
In a photosensitive element having a photosensitive layer on a support that is non-tacky after exposure, a Vica consisting essentially of a non-photosensitive polymer between the photosensitive layer and the support.
t) a photosensitive element having a layer having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or less, and

The above-mentioned viker (V) which is substantially composed of a non-photosensitive polymer is provided between the support and the above-mentioned photosensitive layer which exhibits tackiness when exposed to actinic rays and which does not after exposure.
and a toner element having a toner layer (a ′) containing a coloring material having a hue (a) and a binder on a support. ) A step of forming a latent image by exposing the photosensitive layer to an actinic ray imagewise, B) The photosensitive layer on which the latent image is formed is formed on the toner layer (a ′) having the hue (a). Contacting in a face-to-face relationship, C) separating the toner element and the photosensitive element from each other to transfer the portion of the toner layer corresponding to the unexposed areas of the photosensitive layer to the photosensitive layer, And a step of causing a portion of the toner layer corresponding to the exposed portion to remain on the support for the toner layer, the image forming method.

The preferred embodiments of the photosensitive element and the image forming method according to the present invention will be listed below.

(1) A photosensitive element characterized in that the layer having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or lower according to the Vicat method contains an ethylene polymer or a copolymer.

(2) A photosensitive element characterized in that the ethylene copolymer is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer or an ethylene-acrylic acid ester.

(3) The thickness of the layer having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or lower according to the Vicat method is 3 μm to 10 μm.
A photosensitive element having a thickness of 0 μm.

(4) A photosensitive element characterized in that the photosensitive layer is a photopolymerizable layer.

(5) Any of the above-mentioned photosensitive elements having a photosensitive layer, which has tackiness when exposed to actinic rays when it is not exposed and is non-adhesive after exposed, and a coloring material having a hue (a). And a toner layer (a ') containing a binder and a toner layer (b') containing a binder and a coloring material having a hue (b) different from the hue (a) on the support. A) the step of exposing the photosensitive layer imagewise with actinic rays to form a latent image by using the toner element on the body, and B) the photosensitive layer having the imagewise latent image formed thereon with the hue (a). A) contacting the toner layer (a ′) having a) in a face-to-face relationship, C) separating the toner element and the photosensitive element from each other so that the portion of the toner layer corresponding to the unexposed portion of the photosensitive layer. To the photosensitive layer and remove the toner layer that corresponds to the exposed area of the photosensitive layer. A step of allowing the toner layer to remain on the support for the toner layer, D) an image receiving element having an image receiving layer having a surface having adhesiveness to the toner layer on the support, and the toner layer corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer. Contacting the remaining toner elements in a face-to-face relationship, E) separating the image receiving element and the toner element from each other and leaving the remaining toner layer corresponding to the exposed areas of the photosensitive layer as an image receiving layer. A step of transferring, F) a step of exposing a new photosensitive layer to an actinic ray to form a latent image, and G) a step of forming the latent image-formed photosensitive layer on a toner layer (b ′) having the hue (b). ) In a face-to-face relationship, H) the same as C) above, and I) on the toner layer support corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer formed in H) above. The portion of the remaining toner layer is placed on the image-receiving layer having the toner layer, which is prepared in the above E). And a step of transferring to the image forming method.

(6) The image-receiving element having the toner layers of a plurality of hues prepared in the above I) is brought into face-to-face contact with the final support while being heated and / or pressurized, and then the image-receiving element and An image forming method comprising the steps of separating the final supports from each other and simultaneously transferring the multicolor toner layers on the image-receiving element onto the support.

(7) An image forming method in which the active ray exposure is carried out by focusing and scanning on the laser light-sensitive layer.

(8) The laser light is argon ion laser, helium neon laser, helium cadmium laser, dye laser, semiconductor laser, YAG
Laser light emitted from laser and excimer laser,
Alternatively, the above multicolor image forming method is a light obtained by converting the emitted light into a half wavelength by a second harmonic element.

(9) The image forming method, wherein the toner layer uses a toner element containing at least a plasticizer in addition to a coloring material and a binder.

(10) An image forming method, wherein the binder of the toner layer is an organic polymer having a molecular weight of 10,000 or more.

(11) As a binder for the toner layer,
An image forming method using an organic polymer having a glass transition temperature of room temperature or higher.

(12) An image forming method in which the plasticizer for the toner layer is one or more plasticizers selected from phosphoric acid esters, acrylic acid esters, polyol esters, and epoxy compounds.

(13) An image forming method, wherein the amount of the plasticizer in the toner layer is 2 to 100% by weight based on the total amount of the colorant and the binder forming the toner layer.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the color proofing process described above,
Generally, an image having four kinds of hues, that is, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, is formed. By superimposing these images on each other, a full-color simulation image is obtained. The light-sensitive element for imagewise exposure and the toner element for forming a colored image used in the present invention are produced, for example, by the following steps.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing a section of an example of a photosensitive element used in the present invention. , The photosensitive element 11 is
A photosensitive layer 13 is provided on the support 12 via a layer 14 (hereinafter, abbreviated as an intermediate layer) having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or less by a Vicat method.

The support 12 is not particularly limited as long as it is a film or a plate, and may be made of any substance. Examples of the material of the support 12 include, in general, polymer compounds such as polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer. Biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate is preferable from the viewpoint of mechanical strength and dimensional stability against heat. The thickness of the support 12 is generally 10 to 40 when it is in the form of a film.
It is preferably 0 μm, and particularly preferably 25 to 200 μm.
Depending on the application, glass, metal plate or the like can be used as the support 12. Further, either the support 12 or a cover sheet described later needs to be in the form of a film, and is preferably transparent to actinic rays.

The surface of the support 12 may be subjected to physical surface treatment such as glow discharge treatment or corona discharge treatment in order to improve the adhesion to the intermediate layer 14. Also, an undercoat layer may be provided. The undercoat layer is appropriately selected from a polymer material having a film-forming property in consideration of the adhesion between the support and the intermediate layer and the solubility in a solvent when the intermediate layer is provided by coating. The thickness is not particularly limited, but usually 0.01 μm to 2 μm is preferable.

As this intermediate layer, Vica
t) Method (Specifically, American Material Testing Method ASTMD-1
It is preferable that the softening point by a polymer softening point measuring method according to 235) is about 80 ° C. or less. The reason for this is that the pressure and / or heat normally applied during lamination deforms the non-exposed portion photosensitive layer and the intermediate layer, and fills the surface irregularities such as foreign substances that cause large defects that occur during development. This is because the adhesion between the toner layer and the toner layer can be improved. When a polymer having a high softening point is used, it is necessary to transfer at a high temperature, which greatly affects the dimensional stability of the image.

When a polyethylene terephthalate film or the like is used for the support of the photosensitive element or the toner element, the softening point of the organic polymer substance by the Vicat method is about 80 ° C. or less, preferably 60 ° C. or less. And particularly preferably selected from those having a temperature of 50 ° C. or lower. Softening point is about 80 ℃
Specific examples of the following are polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, ethylene copolymers such as ethylene and vinyl acetate or ethylene and acrylate, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride copolymers such as vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, and polyvinyl chloride. Vinylidene chloride and its copolymers, polystyrene, styrene copolymers such as styrene and (meth) acrylic acid ester, polyvinyltoluene, vinyltoluene copolymers such as vinyltoluene and (meth) acrylic acid ester, poly (meth) acrylic Acid ester, copolymer of butyl (meth) acrylate and (meth) acrylic acid ester such as vinyl acetate, acetic acid copolymer nylon, copolymerized nylon, polyamide resin such as N-alkoxymethylated nylon, polybutadiene, polyisoprene And those It is preferable to select at least one organic polymer substance such as a copolymer (rubber-based polymer) and chlorinated rubber, but further, "Plastic Performance Handbook" (edited by Japan Plastics Industry Federation, All Japan Plastics Industry Federation, Industrial Research Committee) Issued, issued October 25, 1968), an organic polymer substance having a softening point of about 80 ° C. or lower can be used. It is also possible to add various plasticizers which are compatible with the polymer substance into these organic polymer substances to lower the substantial softening point. Furthermore, it is also possible to substantially lower the softening point to 80 ° C. or lower by adding a plasticizer compatible with an organic polymer substance having a softening point of 80 ° C. or higher. In addition, in order to adjust the adhesive force between the support and the photosensitive layer, various polymers, adhesion improvers or surfactants may be added to these organic polymer substances within a range in which the actual softening point does not exceed 80 ° C. It is also possible to add a release agent. As an example, when an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer is used as an intermediate layer on a polyethylene terephthalate film, the addition of a trace amount of chlorinated polyethylene is particularly effective.

The thickness of the intermediate layer is not particularly limited as long as the total thickness with the thickness of the photosensitive layer is about 8 μm or more, but the thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably 3 μm to 100 μm, particularly preferably 10 μm to 50 μm.

This intermediate layer may be prepared by dissolving the above-mentioned polymer in a suitable solvent and coating it on a support, or by forming a layer previously formed on another temporary support by a method such as coating and melt extrusion. It may be transferred onto a support.

By providing this intermediate layer, when the photosensitive element is transferred to an uneven surface, for example, an image receiving element on which an image of a toner layer is already formed, the unevenness is absorbed and the surfaces are sufficiently adhered to each other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of image quality due to the lack of halftone dots. The same effect can be obtained by increasing the film thickness of the photosensitive layer. That is, the thickness of the photosensitive layer is 1
This defect decreases as it increases to 0 μm or more,
When it reaches about 0 μm, it almost disappears. However, materials useful as photopolymerization initiators or spectral sensitizers used in the photosensitive layer are generally extremely expensive, and increasing the film thickness of the photosensitive layer significantly increases the manufacturing cost and makes it practical. It is not preferable because it becomes an obstacle.

For the photosensitive layer 13, various materials can be used as long as they exhibit tackiness in the unexposed state to actinic rays and a non-adhesive state in the exposed state. As an example of such a material, a system in which a photosensitive compound such as vinyl cinnamate and a photosensitive azide compound is blended with a polymer can be used.
The most preferable system in terms of photosensitivity is a photopolymerization system. The preferred photopolymerizable photosensitive layer used in the present invention is i) at least one of a polyfunctional vinyl or vinylidene compound capable of forming a photopolymer by addition polymerization, ii) an organic polymer binder (polymer binder), iii) A photopolymerization initiator activated by actinic rays is contained, and if necessary, additives such as a thermal polymerization inhibitor and a surfactant are contained.

Suitable vinyl or vinylidene compounds which can be used in the present invention are, for example, unsaturated esters of polyols, especially esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, such as ethylene glycol diacrylate, glycerine triacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate,
1,3-propanediol dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,2,4-butanetriol trimethacrylate, trimethylolethane triacrylate, pentaerythritol dimethacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, penta Erythritol diacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol-polyacrylate, 1,3-propanediol-diacrylate, 1,5-pentanediol-dimethacrylate, polyethylene having a molecular weight of 200 to 400 Bisacrylates and bis-methacrylates of glycols and similar compounds, unsaturated amides, especially whose alkylene chain is carbon. Optionally opened by atom alpha, unsaturated amides of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid and ethylene bis-methacrylamide having ω Jiamin. Further, for example, polyester acrylates obtained by condensation of esters of polyhydric alcohols and polyhydric organic acids with acrylic acid or methacrylic acid may be used, but are not limited thereto.

The photosensitive layer of the present invention contains at least one binder. This binder is one of the major factors not only determining the hardness of the photosensitive layer but also the tackiness. Suitable binders for the photosensitive layer of the present invention are thermoplastic resins or mixtures thereof, examples of which are homopolymers of acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid esters, methacrylic acid esters or the like. Copolymers, cellulosic polymers such as methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, vinyl polymers such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl alcohol and the like, and their Examples thereof include condensation polymers such as copolymers, polyesters and polyamides, chlorinated rubbers, rubber polymers such as butadiene-styrene copolymers, polyolefin polymers such as chlorinated polyethylene and chlorinated polypropylene. Of these, copolymers of various acrylic monomers are preferable because it is easy to control the thermal properties such as the softening point in a wide range and the compatibility with the photopolymerizable monomer is good. These polymers are 10,000
It has an average molecular weight of ˜2,000,000. here,
Regarding the mixing ratio of the photopolymerizable monomer and the organic polymer binder, the suitability ratio varies depending on the combination of the monomer compound and the binder used, but generally the monomer: binder ratio is 0.
It is preferably 1: 1.0 to 2.0: 1.0 (weight ratio).

As the photoinitiator used in the photopolymerizable photosensitive layer, it is particularly preferable to use a photoinitiator having absorption and activity in the longer wavelength region than the visible region and high photosensitivity to laser. As such an initiator, many systems in which a radical generator and various dyes as a spectral sensitizer are combined are known. For example, an imidazole dimer is used as a radical generator, and an acridine dye is used as a dye (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-1,54).
55292), a triazine dye (TAGA Pro
Ceedings, 1985, p232), N-phenylglycine is used as a radical generator, and a ketocoumarin-based dye (Polymer Eng. Sci.,
23, 1022 (1983)), a system in which various dyes are combined using an iodonium salt as a radical generator (JP-A-60-76740, 60-78443, 60-88005, etc.), and a triazine compound as a radical initiator. As a dye, an aromatic ketone derivative (Journal of the Chemical Society of Japan, 1984, p.192) and the like are known. Alkyl borates of dyes such as cyanine, rhodamine and safranine are also known as effective visible light initiators (JP-A-62-143044 and JP-A-62-150242). In the present invention, these known photoinitiator systems can be used.

In the present invention, an initiator having absorption and activity in the near ultraviolet region can be used alone or in combination with the above initiators depending on the use and purpose. As an initiator having absorption and activity in the near-ultraviolet region, benzophenone, Michler's ketone [4,4'-bis- (dimethylamino) benzophenone], 4,4'-bis- (dimeramino) benzophenone, 4-methoxy-4'-dimethylaminobenzophenone Aromatic ketones such as 2-ethylanthraquinone, phenonetraquinone, and other aromatic ketones, benzoin, benzoin methyl ether, benzoin ethyl ether, benzoin ethers such as benzoin phenethyl ether, methylbenzoin, ethylbenzoin and Other benzoins and 2- (O-chlorophenyl) -4,5-diphenylimidazole dimer, 2- (O-chlorophenyl) -4,5- (m-methoxyphenyl) imidazole dimer, 2- ( O-Fluor Phenyl) over 4,5 over diphenyl imidazole dimer, 2-(O over methoxyphenyl) over 4,5 over diphenyl imidazole dimer, 2-(p over-methoxyphenyl)
-4,5 diphenylimidazole dimer, 2,4-di (p-methoxyphenyl) -4,5 diphenylimidazole dimer, 2- (p-methylmercaptophenyl) -4,5 diphenylimidazole dimer, And U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,185, British Patent No. 1,047,569.
2,4,5-triacrylyl imidazole dimers and the like, such as the similar dimers of US Pat. No. 3,784,557 and the like. The addition amount of the photoinitiator is preferably 0.01 to 30% by weight with respect to the photopolymerizable monomer compound.

A thermal polymerization inhibitor can be added to the photosensitive layer. Examples of this include p-methoxyphenol,
Examples thereof include, but are not limited to, hydroquinone, alkyl- or aryl-substituted hydroquinone, tertiary butyl catechol, pyrogallol, naphthylamine, β-naphthol, phenothiazine, pyridine, nitrobenzene, φ-tortinone, and aryl phosphite. Furthermore, in the photosensitive layer, during imagewise actinic ray exposure,
It is also possible to add a printing-out agent that forms a visible image by coloring with light, and the material thereof is selected from known materials and used. Other components that can be added to the photosensitive layer include plasticizers, residual solvents, surfactants and inert fillers. The thickness of the photosensitive layer is about 0.1 μm to 10
It is in the range of 0 μm, preferably about 1 μm to 50 μm.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the photosensitive layer 13 has a surface opposite to the support 12, which protects the photosensitive layer before recording and has an effect of suppressing polymerization by oxygen in the air during exposure. It is preferable to provide a cover film in order to reduce the above. The material of the cover film for this purpose generally includes, for example, polymer compounds such as polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer. In particular, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate are preferable. The thickness of the cover film is generally 5 to 400 μm, particularly 10 to 200 μm.
It is preferably μm. A release layer made of a silicone resin or the like may be provided on the surface of the cover film in contact with the photosensitive layer in order to reduce the adhesion to the photosensitive layer. The thickness is not particularly limited, but usually 0.01 μm to 2 μm is preferable.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing a section of an example of the toner element used in the present invention. In FIG.
The toner element 21 includes a support 22 and a toner layer 23 provided on the support 22. The support 22 is not particularly limited as long as it is a film, and may be made of any substance. Examples of the material of the support 22 include, in general, polymer compounds such as polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer. Biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate is preferable from the viewpoint of mechanical strength and dimensional stability against heat. The thickness of the support 22 is generally 5 to 400 μm, particularly 10 to 100 μm.
It is preferably μm.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, if necessary, the surface of the support 22 may have reduced adhesion to the toner layer.
Alternatively, an undercoat layer may be laminated or a physical surface treatment may be performed for the purpose of raising it. The undercoat layer is appropriately selected from materials having a film-forming property in consideration of adhesiveness with the toner layer and solubility in a solvent when the toner layer is applied. In order to reduce the adhesion to the toner layer, a silicone resin such as poly (dimethylsiloxane), gelatin, a water-soluble polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol, etc. are used. The thickness is not particularly limited, but usually 0.01 μ
m to 5 μm is preferable. As a means for improving the adhesion, a physical treatment such as glow discharge treatment or corona discharge treatment on the surface of the support is particularly preferable.

The toner layer is generally obtained by applying a toner material composition dissolved and / or dispersed in a solvent to the surface of a support and drying it. A typical toner layer contains at least one coloring material and a binder.

A pigment or dye is used as the coloring material. Pigments are generally roughly classified into organic pigments and inorganic pigments. The former has characteristics of transparency of a coating film and the latter generally has characteristics of excellent hiding power. When used for printing color proofing, an organic pigment having a color tone matching or close to that of yellow, magenta, cyan and black used in printing ink is preferably used. In addition to these, metal powder, fluorescent pigment, etc. are also used according to the purpose. Suitable pigments include azo-based, phthalocyanine-based, and anthraquinone-based slene-based pigments, dioxazine-based pigments, quinacridone-based pigments, isoindolinone-based pigments, and the like.

The pigment is typically dispersed in an organic solvent or an aqueous dispersion medium together with an organic binder. This pigment is ground to the extent that it reproduces the color and quality of the corresponding image. Generally, an average particle size of 1 micron or less is preferable.

The following examples are some of the many pigments and dyes known in the art, but the pigments or dyes which can be used in the present invention are not limited thereto (C.I. Means color index). Victoria Pure Blue (CI.42593) Auramin O (CI.41000) Catillon Brilliant Flavin (CI Basic 1)
3) Rhodamine 6GCP (C.I.45160) Rhodamine B (C.I.45170) Safranine OK 70: 100 (C.I. 50240) Erioglaucin X (C.I. 42080) First Black HB (C.I. 26150) No. 1201 Lionol Yellow (C.I. 2109
0) Lionol Yellow GRO (CI 21090) Shimla First Yellow 8GF (CI 2110)
5) Benzidine Yellow 4T-564D (C.I. 2109
5) Shimura Fast Red 4015 (C.I. 1235
5) Lionol Red 7B4401 (C.I.15850) Fastgen Blue-TGR-L (C.I.7416)
0) Lionol Blue SM (CI.26150) Mitsubishi Carbon Black MA-100 Mitsubishi Carbon Black # 40

In addition to these pigments, Ciba Geigy Co., Ltd.
Processed pigments in which fine particle pigments are dispersed in a polymer carrier manufactured and sold by, for example, Microlith Yellow 4GA, Microlith Yellow 2RA (C.I.2).
1108), Microlith Yellow MX-A (C.I.2).
1100), Microlith Blue 4G-A (CI.74.
160), Micro-Res Red 3R-A, Micro-Res Red 2C-A, Micro-Res Red 2B-A, Microlith Black CA, etc. are also used.

The toner layer contains at least one binder to control its coatability and brittleness. The binder is also used for controlling the rheological properties of the coating film and stabilizing the pigment in the dispersion system. Typically the pigment and binder or a portion of the binder is ground in a mill until the desired particle size and color is obtained. The milled paste is diluted with a solvent or solvent mixture to obtain a dispersion of the desired viscosity.

In order to obtain a high image quality by selectively transferring the toner layer corresponding to the imagewise exposed area and the unexposed area of the photosensitive layer, the shear breaking force and elongation of the toner layer coating film used in the present invention are Both are preferably small. Therefore, the binder suitable for the toner layer is preferably brittle at least at the toner developing temperature. From this viewpoint, as the binder, in the case of a polymer having a glass transition temperature Tg,
It is preferable that Tg is at least room temperature or higher. Further, when the molecular weight of the binder polymer is small, when laminating the toner layer on the recorded photosensitive layer under pressure and heating,
The binder easily softens or melts, the adhesiveness with the exposed photosensitive layer, which is not desired to be adhered, is increased, and the resolution is likely to be lowered. Therefore, as a binder polymer,
The molecular weight is preferably 10,000 or more. Suitable binders for this layer are thermoplastics or mixtures thereof, in which case the two or more resins may be compatible or incompatible. Examples of specifically preferred polymers are cellulose derivatives such as methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and cellulose triacetate, homopolymers or copolymers of acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid ester, methacrylic acid ester and the like. , Styrene / maleic anhydride resin and its half ester. In a preferred embodiment, the mixing ratio of the pigment and the binder varies depending on the combination of the pigment and the binder, but generally the pigment: binder ratio is 100: 20 to.
100: 300 (weight ratio) is preferable.

The toner layer thus formed is brittle in both the pigment and the binder and has sufficient performance for obtaining a high image quality of only one color. However, it is not possible to adhere the toner layers to each other to form multiple colors. Have difficulty. It is considered that if the binder of the toner layer is a polymer that is softened by applying pressure or heat, the adhesive force between the toner layers is increased, but as described above, the image quality is deteriorated, which is not preferable. Then, various searches were made for additives to the toner layer, and it was found that addition of a plasticizer is preferable because it satisfies both image quality and multicolor. Although the mechanism of action of the plasticizer in the present invention is still unknown, in a composite system of a pigment and a polymer, the adhesiveness to the photosensitive layer in the exposed area and the rotational breaking strength of the toner layer are not significantly increased. It is presumed that the adhesion between the toner layers is strengthened. Further, as described in Examples, the plasticizer also has an effect of lowering the adhesiveness between the toner layer and its support, and it is also important that the transfer from the toner element to the image receiving layer is greatly accelerated. Conceivable.

That is, the plasticizer is added to improve the adhesion between the toner layers having different hues and to promote the transfer to the image receiving element. The material used is appropriately selected depending on the combination with the coloring material and the binder. Examples of low molecular weight plasticizers include dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP), di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DOP), dinonyl phthalate (DNP), dilauryl phthalate (DLP). , Butyl lauryl phthalate (BLP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and other phthalates, di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DOA), di (2-ethylhexyl) sebacate
Aliphatic dibasic acid ester such as (DOS), tricresyl phosphate (TCP), tri (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate
Examples thereof include phosphate triesters such as (TOF), polyol esters such as polyethylene glycol ester, and epoxy compounds such as epoxy fatty acid ester, but are not limited thereto. In addition to the common plasticizers mentioned above, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,2,4-butanetriol trimethacrylate, trimethylolethane triacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol-polyacrylate. Acrylic acid esters such as acrylate are also preferably used depending on the kind of the binder. These plasticizers may be used alone or in admixture of two or more. A secondary plasticizer (auxiliary plasticizer) such as polychlorinated paraffin may be blended with these plasticizers for use. The amount of plasticizer added depends on the combination of pigment and binder, but is generally (total pigment and binder): plasticizer weight ratio of 100: 1 to 100: 200, preferably 10.
It is 0: 2 to 100: 100.

In addition to the components described above, the toner layer may also contain surfactants, thickeners, dispersion stabilizers, adhesion promoters and other additives. The dry film thickness of the toner layer, which depends on the intended use, generally does not exceed 10 μm. It is preferably 0.1 μm to 4 μm.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, a cover film is optionally provided on the surface of the toner layer of the present invention in order to prevent scratches during handling and adhesion between the film surfaces during storage. It may be provided. Cover film materials for these purposes are typically, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride,
Polymer compounds such as polystyrene and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer can be mentioned, and polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate are particularly preferable. The thickness of the cover film is generally 5-40
It is preferably 0 μm, particularly preferably 10 to 100 μm.
On the surface of these cover films that contacts the toner layer,
In order to control the adhesiveness of the cover film, a treatment similar to the surface treatment of the cover film of the photosensitive layer may be performed.

As a method of adhering a plurality of toner layers having different hues on the image receiving element, 1) as a binder for the toner layer, a polymer which is softened by heat, pressure, etc. during lamination to the image receiving element is used. 2) As an undercoat layer of the toner layer, it is not peeled off from the toner layer support during development and is transferred to the image receiving layer together with the toner layer when transferring the imagewise toner layer to the image receiving layer. Further, a method of providing a layer (release layer) having a function of adhering a toner layer to be laminated later is also included.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing a section of an example of the image receiving element used in the present invention. In FIG. 3, the image receiving element 31 is configured by providing an image receiving layer 33 on a support 32. The support 32 is not particularly limited as long as it is a film or plate, and may be made of any substance. As the material of the support 32,
Generally, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, styrene-polymer compounds such as acrylonitrile copolymer can be mentioned.
In particular, biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate is preferable from the viewpoint of dimensional stability against water and heat. Further, the thickness of the support 32 is generally 10 to 400 μ when it is in the form of a film.
m, particularly preferably 25 to 200 μm. Further, depending on the application, it is possible to use glass, a metal plate or the like as the support 32.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, the support 32
In order to improve the adhesiveness with the image receiving layer 33, the surface of the above may be laminated with an undercoat layer or have a physically suitable surface treatment. The undercoat layer is appropriately selected from a polymer material having a filming property in consideration of the adhesion to both the support and the image receiving layer. The thickness is not particularly limited, but usually 0.0
1 μm to 2 μm is preferable. Physical treatment such as glow discharge treatment or corona discharge treatment on the surface of the support is particularly preferable as a means for increasing the adhesion.

The image receiving layer 33 has a softening temperature of about 8 by the Vicat method in order to receive the toner layer.
Polymer layers below 0 ° C are preferred. Further, since it is transferred to a printing paper as needed, it is preferable to use a photopolymerizable material described in JP-A-59-97140 in order to obtain an appropriate release property. The photopolymerizable image-receiving layer suitable for the present invention is iv) at least one polyfunctional vinyl or vinylidene compound capable of forming a photopolymer by addition polymerization, v) an organic polymer binder, vi) a photopolymerization initiator, and If necessary, additives such as a thermal polymerization inhibitor are included. Examples of suitable vinyl or vinylidene compounds (iv) that can be used in the present invention include compounds similar to the photopolymerizable monomer used in the photosensitive layer 13 of the present invention. As an example of the organic polymer binder (binder) (v), a polymer which is similarly used as the binder of the photosensitive layer 13 can be mentioned.

As the photopolymerization initiator, absorption in the near ultraviolet region,
It must be an active compound with no absorption in the visible region or a small compound. Examples thereof include benzophenone, Michler's ketone [4,4'-bis- (dimethylamino) benzophenone], 4,4'-bis- (dimeramino) benzophenone, 4-methoxy-4'-dimethylaminobenzophenone, 2-ethylanthraquinone, phenonetraquinone. , And other aromatic ketones such as aromatic ketones, benzoin, benzoin methyl ether, benzoin ethyl ether, benzoin ethers such as benzoin phenethyl ether, methylbenzoin, ethylbenzoin and other benzoins, and 2- ( O-chlorophenyl) -4,5-diphenylimidazole dimer, 2- (O-chlorophenyl) -4,
5- (m-methoxyphenyl) imidazole dimer, etc.,
The photoinitiator having an activity in the near ultraviolet region, which is exemplified in the section of the photoinitiator for the photosensitive layer 13 of the present invention, can be mentioned. Here, the mixing ratio of the photopolymerizable monomer and the organic polymer binder varies depending on the combination of the monomer compound and the binder used, but generally, the monomer: binder ratio is 0.1:
1.0-2.0: 1.0 (weight ratio) is preferable. The addition amount of the photoinitiator is preferably 0.01 to 20% by weight with respect to the monomer compound.

The film thickness of the image-receiving layer needs to be modified in order to receive the four-color image after image formation, but a thickness sufficient for that purpose is the minimum, and it is appropriate for the photopolymerizable substance. The coating thickness varies depending on the thickness of the color image, but is 1 to 50 μm.
Is preferred.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, the image receiving layer 33 of the present invention may have a two-layer structure, if necessary. In particular, when transferring an image to a permanent support such as printing paper, an upper layer of the two layers is transferred together with the image, and a lower layer (support side) is left on the image receiving element.
JP-A-2-244146 and 2-244147,
It is described in detail in JP-A No. 2-244148. The methods described in these publications are preferable from the viewpoint of the closeness to printed matter and other points, and are suitably used as the image receiving element of the present invention.

The process for performing color calibration by the surprint method by laser recording will be described below step by step. 1) A laser beam modulated by a color-separated image signal is condensed on a photosensitive layer to have an appropriate beam diameter and scanned. The laser light can be incident from either the support side or the cover film side. In order to scan the laser light, generally while rotating the photosensitive element at high speed on the rotating drum,
A method of moving (sub-scanning) the laser beam while synchronizing with the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction (drum scanning method)
There is a method (plane scanning method) of moving (sub-scanning) the photosensitive element in the orthogonal direction while scanning the laser beam on the photosensitive element on the flat stage at a high speed. In the present invention, any of these methods or their modified methods can be used.

2) The laser-recorded photosensitive layer is superposed (after removing the cover film, if necessary) so that the toner layer of the hue corresponding to the color-separated image is in contact, and then passed through a laminator. The toner layer is transferred and developed on the unexposed photosensitive layer in accordance with the imagewise exposure pattern by applying pressure during passage and, if necessary, heating.

3) Sequentially, a second, a third, and optionally a fourth separated image of the hue are each laser recorded on a separate photosensitive element and transferred using a toner element of the corresponding hue,
It is developed. At this time, it is preferable that the conditions for developing the separated images of the first to fourth hues are set to be the same from the viewpoint of reducing operational errors and improving processing efficiency. Here, a new photosensitive layer is required for each color toner element. As this photosensitive layer, different photosensitive elements may be prepared, but it is also possible to use the same photosensitive element and to transfer a single color and then provide a new photosensitive layer by a method such as coating or laminating. .. Since the middle layer absorbs,
This is because sufficient adhesion can be obtained even if the surface of the photosensitive layer has some irregularities.

4) The image on the toner element of the first color obtained by the above operation is superposed so as to be in contact with the image receiving layer of the image receiving element, and is passed through the laminator under heating and pressure. The decomposed image is strongly adhered to the image receiving layer and transferred by heating and pressing during passage.

5) Sequentially, the second, third and optionally the fourth separated image are aligned with the image of the first color and transferred in a similar manner. The toner layer of the second decomposed image is transferred directly to the image receiving layer by heat and pressure when passing through the laminator or strongly adhered to the toner layer of the first decomposed image. The third decomposed image is similarly adhered to any of the image receiving layer, the first toner layer and the second toner layer and transferred to the image receiving element. At this time, the conditions for transferring the separated images of the first to fourth hues to the image receiving element are set to be the same for each hue, which is to reduce operational errors and improve processing efficiency. Is preferred.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state after a toner element is laminated by using a photosensitive element having a relatively small photosensitive layer thickness without an intermediate layer. Reference numeral 41 is a foreign substance mixed in at any step from coating the photosensitive layer to laminating the toner element. Depending on the size of the foreign matter, voids 42 are generated, and among the toner layers to be transferred to the photosensitive layer side, the toner layers in the void portions remain on the support side and cause defects.

FIG. 5 uses a photosensitive element provided with an intermediate layer,
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state after the toner elements are laminated. The foreign matter 41 penetrates into the soft intermediate layer 14 and does not generate a gap between the toner layer and the photosensitive element, so that there is no image defect.

FIG. 6 shows how the second separated image is transferred to the image receiving element after the first toner image is transferred.
32 is an image receiving element support, 33 is an image receiving layer, 22 is a toner element support, 51 is a first separated image (hue a), 52
Indicates a second separated image (hue b). Further, F1b is the adhesive force between the second separated image (toner layer of hue b) and the support 22, F2ab is the adhesive force between the first and second separated image toner layers, and the first and second The adhesive force between each of the decomposed images and the image receiving layer is indicated by F3a and F3b, and the cohesive force of each of the first and second decomposed image layers is indicated by F4a and F4b, respectively.
Here, F1b is F2ab, F3a, F3b, F4
Since it is smaller than each of a and F4b, the second decomposed image can be transferred to the image receiving element without interposing another layer such as an adhesive layer on the first decomposed image. In the present invention, as shown in Examples to be described later, by adding a plasticizer to the toner layer, F1b is reduced, and the adhesive force between the toner layers a and b is increased. Can be satisfied.

6) Next, the image-receiving layers on which the four-color separated images have been transferred are superposed on white paper so as to be in contact with each other, and passed through a heat laminator under heat and pressure to adhere to the white paper.

7) When the image-receiving layer is photopolymerizable, the entire surface is exposed to ultraviolet light through the transparent support of the image-receiving element to photo-cur the image-receiving layer.

8) By peeling the transparent support,
A four color registered image transferred onto white paper is obtained.

In the first laser recording step, a gas laser such as an argon ion laser, a helium neon laser, a helium cadmium laser, a solid-state laser such as a YAG laser, a semiconductor laser, or a dye laser or an excimer laser is directly emitted. Light,
Alternatively, the emitted light is converted into light having a half wavelength through a second harmonic element. These lasers are appropriately selected depending on the photosensitive wavelength of the photosensitive layer, the sensitivity, and the required recording speed. The modulation of the laser light by the image signal is known, for example, in the case of an argon ion laser, the beam is passed through an external modulator, and in the case of a semiconductor laser, the current injected into the laser is controlled (directly modulated) by a signal. Method. Further, focusing of the modulated laser beam on the photosensitive layer and scanning is also carried out by a known method. When transferring and forming the final image on paper, when scanning and recording the laser beam, when viewed from the photosensitive layer (or cover film) side, the image on the left and right is the opposite of the original image (reverse image). ), It is necessary to scan and record.

In image formation using the photosensitive element of the present invention, the toner element on which the toner layer remains may be used as it is without being transferred to the image receiving element, and further, the photosensitive element on which the toner layer is transferred may be used. Can be used. For example, a toner element having a residual toner layer has an excellent image with few defects, and thus can be used as a mask for printing on a printing plate or the like, that is, a mask formed using a so-called lith film. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0085]

【Example】

Example 1 A coating solution for the intermediate layer having the following composition was prepared. Polymer Ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer 20 parts by weight (Mitsui Petrochemical Co., Ltd., trade name Evaflex A-709) Solvent 100 parts by weight 100 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate (PE
Using the T) film as a support, the above coating solution was applied at 200 rpm for 1 minute using a spin coater, and dried in an oven at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes. The thickness of the obtained intermediate layer was 20 μm.

Onto this intermediate layer, a photosensitive layer coating solution having the following formulation was applied at 100 rpm for 1 minute using a spin coater and dried in an oven at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes. The film thickness of the obtained photosensitive layer was 2 μm. Here, as the photoinitiators A and B, 0.45 g dissolved in 1 ml of chloroform was used. A laminator was used on the photosensitive layer to cover a polypropylene film (thickness: 12 μm) to obtain a photosensitive element.

Binder 4.0 parts by weight (allyl methacrylate / methacrylic acid copolymer, copolymer composition ratio = 80/20 (molar ratio), molecular weight = 36,000) Polyvinylpyrrolidone 5.0 parts by weight ( Gokyo Sangyo Co., Ltd. Type K-15, molecular weight = 10,000) 1.2 parts by weight of dipentaerythritto hexaacrylate (photopolymerizable monomer, abbreviation DPHA) Photoinitiator A (structural formula A) 0.045 parts by weight Part (solid content)

[0088]

[Chemical 1]

Photoinitiator B (Structural Formula B) 0.045 parts by weight (solid content)

[0090]

[Chemical 2]

Hydroquinone monomethyl ether 0.01 parts by weight (thermal polymerization inhibitor) 1-methoxy-2-propanol 21 parts by weight

Next, the following toner layer coating liquid was prepared. <Black coating liquid: symbol K1> Coloring material Microlith Black CA 4.5 parts by weight (Ciba Geigy Co., Ltd .: Note 1) Additive pentaerythritol tetraacrylate 0.18 parts by weight (abbreviation: PET-4A) ) Solvent Methyl ethyl ketone 200 parts by weight Propylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate 100 parts by weight Surfactant Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc., trade name Magahu Fuku F-176PF 0.5 parts by weight (Note 1) Microlith Black CA: Carbon black Processed pigment consisting of pigment and ethyl cellulose (binder).

Using a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having a thickness of 75 μm as a support and using a spin coater (Whorer), the above coating solution was applied at 120 rpm at 1 rpm.
Coating for 1 minute and drying in an oven at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes to produce a black toner element. The thickness of the obtained toner layer is
It was 0.2 μm.

Using the photosensitive element and the toner element obtained by the above procedure, image formation and evaluation were carried out by the following procedure. First, a photosensitive element was attached on a rotating drum such that the laser incident surface served as a cover film. Next, the rotary drum was rotated under the condition of a linear velocity of 14 m / sec, and the power on the sample surface was 1.
Argon ion laser (wavelength 488 nm) light was scanned and exposed under the conditions of 5 mW and a beam diameter of 10 μm. At this time, laser scanning was performed so that the recording pattern was a straight line with a line pitch of 20 μm. After peeling off the cover film of the photosensitive element, a laminator set at 100 ° C. and a pressure of 4.5 kg / cm ² was passed at a speed of 450 mm / min while contacting the toner layer of hue black and the photosensitive layer. A toner image was formed on the photosensitive layer and the toner layer support by peeling the toner element back to room temperature from the photosensitive element. The images obtained had good sensitivity, all images had excellent resolution, and there were very few defects visually observed.

Comparative Example 1 The same image formation and evaluation as in Example 1 were performed using the photosensitive element and the toner element prepared by the same method as in Example 1 except that the intermediate layer was not provided. In the toner layer on the photosensitive layer, white spots having a size of several tens of μm to several hundreds of μm are caused due to poor adhesion due to foreign matter, and a large number of residual toner layers corresponding to the white spots remain on the toner element, resulting in a large deterioration of image quality. It was Microscopic observation revealed that many of the defects had a foreign substance in the center.

Example 2 A coating liquid for cyan, magenta and yellow toner layers having the following compositions was prepared. <Cyan coating liquid: symbol C1> Color material Pigment dispersion liquid C1 10.8 parts by weight (Note 2) C1: Pigment dispersion liquid having the following composition Pigment No-700-10 FG Cyanine Blue (manufactured by Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.) ) 10 parts by weight binder benzyl methacrylate / methacrylic acid / acrylic acid copolymer (composition ratio: 50/35/15, molecular weight 60,000) 15 parts by weight solvent methyl ethyl ketone 31 parts by weight methyl cellosolve acetate 26 parts by weight methoxypropanol 17 parts by weight Additive Dioctyl phthalate 0.6 parts by weight Solvent n-Propanol 76 parts by weight Cyclohexanol 2 parts by weight Acetone 7 parts by weight

<Coating Liquid for Magenta: Symbol M1> Coloring Material Pigment Dispersion M1 7.2 parts by weight (Note 3) M1: Pigment dispersion having the following composition Pigment Rionol Red LX-235 12 parts by weight (Toyo Ink) Binder benzyl methacrylate / methacrylic acid copolymer (composition ratio: 67/33, molecular weight 43,000) 18 parts by weight solvent methyl cellosolve acetate 37 parts by weight methoxypropyl acetate 33 parts by weight Additive CRP (structure) Formula C) 0.6 parts by weight

[0098]

[Chemical 3]

Solvent Methyl ethyl ketone 80 parts by weight Propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate 40 parts by weight

<Yellow coating liquid: symbol Y1> Coloring material Microlith Yellow 2R-A 1.8 parts by weight (Ciba Geigy Corp .: Note 4) Additive PET-4A 0.8 parts by weight Solvent Methyl ethyl ketone 60 parts by weight Propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate 60 parts by weight (Note 4) Microlith Yellow 2R-A: Pigment (Pigment)
yellow 83, C.I. I. 21108) and a processed pigment consisting of ethyl cellulose (binder).

Using a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having a thickness of 75 μm as a support, and using a rotary coating machine (Whorer), the coating liquids of the respective colors described above were mixed at 120 rpm.
For 1 minute and dried in an oven at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes to prepare each color toner element. The thickness of the obtained toner layer was 0.2 μm for black, 0.4 μm for cyan, 0.4 μm for magenta, and 0.2 μm for yellow.

Next, the following was prepared as a coating liquid for the image receiving layer. <Image-receiving first layer> Polyvinyl chloride 9 parts by weight (Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd., trade name Zeon 25) Surfactant 0.1 parts by weight (Dainippon Ink & Co., trade name Megafac F-177P) ) Methyl ethyl ketone 130 parts by weight Toluene 35 parts by weight Cyclohexanone 20 parts by weight Dimethylformamide 20 parts by weight

<Image Receiving Second Layer> Methyl methacrylate / ethyl acrylate / methacrylic acid copolymer (Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., trade name Dianal BR-77) 17 parts by weight Alkyl acrylate / alkyl methacrylate copolymer 17 parts by weight (Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., trade name Dianal BR-64) Pentaerythritol tetraacrylate 22 parts by weight (Shin-Nakamura Chemical Co., Ltd., trade name A-TMMT) Surfactant 0.4 parts by weight (Dainippon Ink Co., Ltd.) Co., Ltd., trade name Megafac F-177P) Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts by weight Hydroquinone monomethyl ether 0.05 parts by weight 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (photopolymerization initiator) 1.5 parts by weight

Using a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having a thickness of 100 μm as a support, the above coating solution for image receiving first layer was applied using a spin coater (Whorer) and dried in an oven at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes. The thickness of the obtained first layer was 1 μm. The second layer coating solution was applied onto this first layer by the same method, and an image receiving second layer having a dry film thickness of 26 μm was laminated to obtain an image receiving element.

Next, using the photosensitive element and the black toner element prepared in Example 1, a multicolor image was formed in the following procedure. First, a black toner image is formed on a black toner element by the same method as in Example 1, and then the image is superposed on the image receiving layer of the image receiving element, and the conditions are 125 ° C., pressure 4.5 kg / cm ² , speed 900 mm / min. It was laminated with. After cooling to room temperature,
When the image receiving element and the toner element were separated from each other, the image on the toner layer support was transferred onto the image receiving layer.

A cyan toner image was formed on the toner element support in a similar manner using the new photosensitive layer. On the image receiving layer on which the black toner image was formed, the recording lines were superposed so that the recording line directions were orthogonal to each other, and laminated and separated under the same conditions. Was satisfactorily transferred. Magenta,
The same operation was performed for the yellow toner element to form an image composed of four color toner layers on the image receiving element.

The image receiving layer to which the toner layers of the above four colors are transferred is overlaid on the art paper used for printing, and 125
Lamination was carried out under the conditions of ° C, pressure of 4.5 kg / cm ² and speed of 450 mm / min. From the image receiving element side of this laminate, the entire surface was irradiated with a 2 kW ultra-high pressure mercury lamp at a distance of 50 cm, and the image receiving element was peeled off. The toner image layers of the four colors were transferred onto the art paper while being well adhered to each other. Was confirmed. The obtained image was excellent in resolution, had no change in hue, and had few defects visually observed.

Example 3 A coating solution for the photosensitive layer having the following composition was prepared. Binder (benzyl methacrylate / methacrylic acid copolymer methyl cellosolve acetate 33% solution, copolymerization composition ratio = 67/33) 45.5 parts by weight Photopolymerizable monomer tetraethylene glycol diacrylate 3.0 parts by weight pentaerythritol tetra Acrylate 5.0 parts by weight Initiator D (structural formula D) 0.6 parts by weight

[0109]

[Chemical 4]

Surfactant (Sumitomo 3M Ltd., trade name Florard FC-430) 0.1 parts by weight Methyl ethyl ketone 110 parts by weight Propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate 55 parts by weight

Using this coating solution, a photosensitive element was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. The thickness of the obtained photosensitive layer was 2.0 μm. Toner film other than photosensitive element,
The image receiving element was prepared by the same method as in Examples 1 and 2. This photosensitive element was irradiated with ultraviolet rays through a 4-color separation image mask by a 2 kW ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, and a toner film of a corresponding hue was used to perform development in the same manner as in Example 1. The image formed on the toner element was transferred to the image receiving element under the same conditions as in Example 1 while aligning the four colors, and then transferred to art paper. The image obtained is 2-98 with 150 lines.
% Of halftone dots were resolved, and scratch resistance was also good.

Comparative Examples 2 to 3 Toner images were formed and image-receiving by the same method as in Examples 1 and 2 except that the plasticizer was removed from the toner layer coating liquid of each hue in Example 2. Transfers were made to the element and art paper. The image of the first color was satisfactorily transferred to the image receiving layer, but the transfer of the second and subsequent colors was insufficient, and the image quality was unusable.

Example 4 An image was formed in the same manner as in Example 8 except that an intermediate layer of a 15 μm thick ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (Mitsui Petrochemical Co., Ltd., trade name Evaflex 40Y) was used. It was formed and evaluated. Good results were obtained in terms of defects as well as sensitivity and resolution.

Example 5 A liquid having the following composition was prepared as a coating liquid for the intermediate layer. Polymer: Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer 15 parts by weight (manufactured by Nisshin Chemical Co., Ltd., trade name MPR-T5, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate = 75/25 (wt%), degree of polymerization = about 400) Vinyl chloride-acetic acid Vinyl-maleic acid copolymer 5 parts by weight (manufactured by Nisshin Chemical Co., Ltd., trade name MPR-TM, PVC / vinyl acetate / maleic acid = 86/13/1 (wt%), degree of polymerization = about 400) Plasticizer : Dibutyl phthalate 0.4 part by weight Surfactant: 3M, trade name Florard FC-430 0.25 part by weight Solvent: Methyl ethyl ketone 100 part by weight A PET film having a thickness of 100 μm is used as a support and a spin coater is used. Then, apply and dry the above liquid to a thickness of 20 μm.
An intermediate layer of A photosensitive layer was coated on this intermediate layer by the same method as in Example 1 to prepare a photosensitive element. The film thickness of the photosensitive layer was 3 μm. Then, when image formation and evaluation were carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, good results were shown in terms of defects as well as sensitivity and resolution.

Example 6 Using the coating liquid for the photosensitive layer prepared in Example 3, a thickness of 100 was obtained.
The photosensitive layer was coated on the PET film having a thickness of μm in the same manner as in Example 1. The film thickness of the photosensitive layer was 3 μm. Next, a polyethylene film having a thickness of 25 μm, which was laminated on a PET film having a thickness of 75 μm, was attached to the photosensitive layer while being in contact with 4.5 kg / cm ² , 120 ° C., and 4 ° C.
A laminator was passed under the condition of 50 mm / min, and then UV exposure was performed under the same conditions as in Example 10. When the polyethylene film was peeled from the photosensitive element, the photosensitive layer was transferred to the polyethylene side. The black toner element used in Example 8 was laminated on the photosensitive layer under the same conditions as in Example 8 and developed. The obtained image had good resolution, and the polyethylene film having a thickness of 25 μm acted as an intermediate layer, and the number of defects visually observed was very small.

Examples 7a to 7d, Comparative Example 4 The following dispersions were prepared as magenta toner layer coating solutions. Coloring material Pigment dispersion M1 (same as M1 of Example 2) 7.2 parts by weight Additive (plasticizer) PET-4A 0 parts by weight to 0.6 parts by weight (0 to 0 based on the total amount of pigment and binder) Change to 40% by weight, each of which is a to e.) Solvent Methyl ethyl ketone 80 parts by weight Propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate 40 parts by weight

Using this coating solution, magenta toner elements having different plasticizer contents were prepared in the same manner as in Example 2. Photosensitive element, black and yellow toner element,
And the image receiving element was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 or 2. Then, in the same manner as in Example 2, the toner layers were transferred to the image receiving element in the order of black and yellow. Next, the toner films a to e were transferred onto the yellow image while changing the laminator temperature. Table 1 shows the lamination temperatures at which transfer was possible to the image receiving element.

Table 1: Evaluation of Transferable Temperature Sample Amount of Plasticizer Added (% by Weight) Transferable Temperature (° C.) --------------------------------- −−−−−−−−−−− a (Example 7a) 10 120 b (Example 7b) 20 100 c (Example 7c) 30 80 d (Example 7d) 40 70 e (Comparative example 4) 0 Transfer not possible at 150 ° C (transforms to image receiving layer support)

Examples 8f to 8h, Comparative Example 5 A compound of structural formula E (type MP-14, manufactured by Daihachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) as a plasticizer in the coating liquid for cyan toner layer of Example 2
A photosensitive layer, a toner element, and an image receiving element were prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 or Example 2, except that Samples f to i were prepared by changing the contents of the above.

[0120]

[Chemical 5]

Then, in the same manner as in Example 2, a transfer test was conducted on the image receiving element after the black image. The results are shown in Table 2. It is understood that the addition of MP-14 improves not only the transferability but also the image quality, but if the amount is too large, cohesive failure of the toner layer occurs during development and the image quality deteriorates.

Table 2: Evaluation Results Sample Amount of Plasticizer Added Image Quality to Image Receiving Element (Total Amount of Pigment and Monomer,% by Weight to Transfer) ------------- −−−−−−−−−−−−− f (Example 8f) 12 Good Almost good g (Example 8g) 24 Good Good h (Example 8h) 100 Possible Non-image area somewhat bad (toner layer Cohesive failure) i (Comparative example 5) 0 No Shadow area defect

Example 9 and Comparative Example 6 In Example 2, CRP was used as the magenta layer plasticizer.
Instead of DOP, TPP, CDP (structural formula F), B
A sample was prepared under the same method and conditions as in Example 2 except that DP (Structural Formula G) was used, and the sample was transferred to the image receiving element after the cyan image and image evaluation was performed. At this time, when these plasticizers were not added (Comparative Example 6), the image quality on the actual printing paper was poor in each case, but the additive was added (Example 9).
Had good image quality and hue, and had few visual defects.

[0124]

[Chemical 6]

[0125]

[Chemical 7]

Example 10, Comparative Example 7 In Example 2, instead of DOP as the plasticizer for the cyan layer, MP10 (plasticizer manufactured by Daihachi Chemical Co., Ltd., structural formula H), MP-16 (Dahachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) was used. A sample was prepared by the same method and conditions as in Example 2 except that the plasticizer manufactured by Co., Ltd. and the structural formula I) were used. The sample was transferred to the image receiving element after the black image, and the image was evaluated. At this time, in the case where these plasticizers were not added (Comparative Example 7), the image quality on the printing actual paper was poor in any case, but in the case of the addition (Example 10), both the image quality and the hue were good, and There were also very few visual defects.

[0127]

[Chemical 8]

[0128]

[Chemical 9]

Example 11 and Comparative Example 8 P was used as a plasticizer in the coating liquid for the cyan toner layer of Example 2.
A photosensitive layer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that ET-4A was used to prepare samples j to n having different contents.
A toner element and an image receiving element were prepared. Then, in the same manner as in Example 2, a transfer test was performed on the image receiving element after the black image. Furthermore, after laminating a pressure sensitive adhesive tape on the cyan toner layer, a tensile tester (Tensilon)
The adhesive force between the toner element support and the toner layer was measured by F1. The results are shown in Table 3. The addition of a plasticizer enables transfer to the image-receiving element, and the laminating temperature required for transfer decreases as the amount added increases. It can be seen that one of the factors for the improvement of the transferability is the decrease in the adhesive force F1 between the toner layer and the support.

Table 3: Evaluation Results ──────────────────────────────────── Sample j k l m n PET-4A addition amount (Note 5) 0 10 20 30 40 (Comparative example) (Example) (Example) (Example) (Example) Four-color transferable temperature (° C) 135 ° C Same as left 130 120 100 ( Note 6) Transfer is not possible Peeling force F1 (g / cm) 170 160 155 590 30 ───────────────────────────────── ──── (Note 5) Weight% of the total amount of pigment and binder (Note 6) Transferred to the image receiving element in the order of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow.

[0131]

According to the multicolor image forming method of the present invention, a color image can be obtained by a dry developing method. In particular, there is a remarkable effect that a color proof can be directly obtained by laser light digitally modulated by an image signal. By the image forming method of the present invention, an image having a pigment as a coloring material can be formed on a printing actual paper, so that a proof with high similarity to a printed matter can be obtained. The resulting image is free from discoloration due to the sensitizing dye. Further, since the color matching is performed on the plastic support having excellent dimensional stability, the process stability is high and the mechanical strength of the obtained image is excellent, which is a remarkable effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of an example of a photosensitive element used in an image forming method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of an example of a toner element used in the image forming method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of an example of an image receiving element used in the image forming method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of a state of surface contact when a large foreign substance is mixed in the image forming method not using the photosensitive element according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a state of surface contact when a large foreign substance is mixed in the image forming method using the photosensitive element according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of how the second toner image is transferred to the image receiving element after the first toner image is transferred to the image receiving element in the image forming method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Photosensitive Element 12 Photosensitive Element Support 13 Photosensitive Layer 14 Intermediate Layer 21 Toner Element 22 Toner Element Support 23 Toner Layer 31 Image Receiving Element 32 Image Receiving Element Support 33 Image Receiving Layer 41 Foreign Material 42 Voids 51 Toner Layer of Hue a of 52 Hue b Toner layer F1b Adhesion between toner element support and toner layer of hue b F2ab Adhesion between toner layers of hues a and b F3a Adhesion between toner layer of image receiving layer and hue a F3b Toner layer of image receiving layer and hue b Adhesive force between F4a Cohesive force of toner layer of hue a F4b Cohesive force of toner layer of hue b

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Fumiaki Shinozaki 200 Onakazato, Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A photosensitive element having, on a support, a photosensitive layer that exhibits tackiness when exposed to actinic rays and that does not exhibit adhesiveness after exposure, between the photosensitive layer and the support.
Vicers, which consist essentially of non-photosensitive polymers
at) method having a layer having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or lower. 2. The viker according to claim 1, wherein
A photosensitive element characterized in that a layer having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or less by a cat method contains an ethylene polymer or a copolymer. 3. The photosensitive element according to claim 2, wherein the ethylene copolymer is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer or an ethylene-acrylic acid ester. 4. The viker according to claim 1, wherein
The thickness of the layer having a softening temperature of 80 ° C. or less by the cat method is
A photosensitive element having a thickness of 3 μm to 100 μm. 5. The photosensitive element according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive layer is a photopolymerizable layer. 6. A photosensitive element having, on a support, a photosensitive layer which exhibits tackiness when exposed to actinic rays and which does not after exposure, a coloring material having a hue (a), and a binder. Using a toner element having a toner layer (a ') on a support, A) exposing the photosensitive layer imagewise with actinic rays to form a latent image, and B) forming the latent image imagewise. Contacting the photosensitive layer with the toner layer (a ′) having the hue (a) in a face-to-face relationship, C) separating the toner element and the photosensitive element from each other to unexpose the photosensitive layer A portion of the toner layer corresponding to a portion of the photosensitive layer is transferred to the photosensitive layer, and the portion of the toner layer corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer is left on the support for the toner layer. , Claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4 or claim 5 An image forming method, which is a photosensitive element. 7. A photosensitive element having, on a support, a photosensitive layer that exhibits tackiness when exposed to actinic rays and that does not after exposure, a coloring material having a hue (a), and a binder. Toner element having toner layer (a ') on a support and toner element having toner layer (b') containing at least a coloring material having a hue (b) different from hue (a) and a binder on the support A) a step of exposing the photosensitive layer to an imagewise actinic ray to form a latent image, B) a photosensitive layer having the imagewise latent image formed thereon, and a toner layer (a) having the hue (a) above. a ') contacting in a face-to-face relationship, C) separating the toner element and the photosensitive element from each other to transfer the portion of the toner layer corresponding to the unexposed areas of the photosensitive layer to the photosensitive layer. , The part of the toner layer corresponding to the exposed part of the photosensitive layer remains on the support for the toner layer. The step of applying, D) an image receiving element provided with an image receiving layer having a surface having adhesiveness to the toner layer on the support, and a toner element remaining from the toner layer corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer. Contacting in a face-to-face relationship, E) separating the image receiving element and the toner element from each other and transferring the residual toner layer corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer to the image receiving layer, F) new photosensitive layer G) exposing the layer to actinic rays to form a latent image, G) applying the imagewise latent image-forming photosensitive layer to the toner layer (b ') having the hue (b) face-to-face In contact with each other, H) a step similar to the above C), and I) a portion of the toner layer formed on the toner layer support corresponding to the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer formed in the above H), A step of transferring onto the image receiving layer having a toner layer, prepared in the above E). In the method for forming the above photosensitive elements, according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, an image forming method which is a light-sensitive element according to claim 4 or claim 5. 8. The image receiving element according to claim 7, which has a plurality of hue toner layers prepared in I), is brought into face-to-face contact with the final support while heating and / or pressing. An image forming method comprising the steps of separating the image receiving element and the final support from each other and simultaneously transferring the multicolor toner layers on the image receiving element onto the support. 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the actinic ray exposure is performed using a laser beam.
The image forming method described in 1.