JPH05318952A - Thermal transfer image receiving material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To closely bond a thermal transfer recording material and a thermal transfer image receiving material and to eliminate irregularity, in transferring an ink layer to the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material superposed on the ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material corresponding to image data, by making the average surface roughness of the end part of the thermal transfer image receiving material larger than that of the central part thereof. CONSTITUTION:In heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording, the ink surface of a thermal transfer recording material and the image receiving surface of a thermal transfer image receiving material are superposed one upon another and irradiated with light from the rear of either one of both materials corresponding to image data to transfer the ink layer corresponding to the image data to the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material. In this case, the average surface roughness of the end part of the thermal transfer image receiving material is made larger than that of the central part thereof. For the sake of this, a mat material having a mean particle size larger than that of the mat material in the central part of the thermal transfer image receiving material is added to the end part of the thermal transfer image receiving material or the mat material is added only to the end part thereof. A cushion layer 2 is interposed between the support 1 and the image receiving layer 3 or the thermal transfer image receiving material. By this constitution, both materials are closely bonded and an excellent transfer image free from irregularity is obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer image receiving material used for thermal transfer recording, and more particularly to a thermal transfer image receiving material used for heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a thermal transfer recording method, a pressure / heating method using a thermal head has been known. This method has low noise, can be implemented by a device with a simple mechanism, and has excellent features such as maintenance-free and dry processing, so high density of thermal head (400-600dpi in recent years)
Resolution) has been put into practical use.

However, it is difficult to increase the density of the thermal head any more, and it takes time to form an image because it is a unit of head scanning.

On the other hand, as a method capable of recording a high resolution image, there is known a method in which a laser beam is applied to a thermal transfer recording material, the laser beam is converted into heat in the recording material, and the thermal transfer recording is performed by the heat. There is. With this method, the laser light used for energy supply can be focused to a few μm, so the resolution can be dramatically improved compared to the method of supplying heat with a thermal head.

In this heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording system (hereinafter also referred to as "laser thermal transfer recording system"), a thermal transfer recording material and a thermal transfer image receiving material (hereinafter also referred to as "recording material" or "image receiving material") are used. Since the adhesiveness has a great influence on the resolution of the image, how to enhance the adhesiveness has been a problem in order to obtain a particularly high-resolution image.

In the case of performing the plane scanning in the laser thermal transfer recording system, it is also possible to improve the adhesion between the two by covering the laminate of the recording material and the image receiving material with a transparent pressing member.

However, in order to perform high-speed recording and to reduce the space of the optical system, when the recording material and the image receiving material are wound around the surface of the cylindrical drum and the recording material is scanned with a laser beam to record an image. If only the laser beam irradiation area on the cylindrical drum is pressed, the recording material and the image receiving material cannot be brought into uniform contact with each other when the cylindrical drum is rotated at high speed, and only partial contact can be obtained. In order to prevent this, there is a method in which a cover sheet is attached to the recording material and the image receiving material wound around a cylindrical drum, and the tension of the cover sheet is used to achieve the close contact state between the recording material and the image receiving material. This method is effective in pressing a large area, but it is difficult to achieve perfect adhesion between the recording material and the image receiving material, and it cannot be said that it is sufficient to obtain a high quality transferred image. However, improvement of this is strongly desired. In reality, it is preferable that the image-receiving sheet and the ink sheet are superposed on each other and brought into vacuum contact with each other, but it is disadvantageous that the vacuum contact with a large area takes time.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to improve the adhesion between the thermal transfer recording material and the thermal transfer image receiving material in the heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording, and also to shorten the time for bringing them into vacuum contact with each other without unevenness. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer image-receiving material capable of obtaining a good transferred image.

[0009]

The above objects of the present invention have been achieved by the following structures.

(1) The ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material and the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material are superposed on each other, and light is irradiated from the back surface of the thermal transfer recording material or the thermal transfer image receiving material according to the image information to thereby receive the image of the thermal transfer image receiving material. In a heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording in which an ink layer is transferred to a surface according to image information, a thermal transfer image receiving material in which an average surface roughness of an end portion is larger than an average surface roughness of a central portion.

(2) The thermal transfer image receiving material according to (1), wherein the end portion of the thermal transfer image receiving material contains a matting material having a larger average particle size than the central portion, or the matting material is contained only in the end portion.

(3) The thermal transfer image-receiving material as described in (1), wherein an end portion of the thermal transfer image-receiving material is embossed to make unevenness.

(4) The thermal transfer image receiving material according to (1), wherein the thermal transfer image receiving material is provided with irregularities by shaving off the end portions of the thermal transfer image receiving material with fine projections.

(5) The image of the thermal transfer image receiving material is received by laying the ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material and the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material on top of each other and irradiating light from the back surface of the thermal transfer recording material or the thermal transfer image receiving material according to the image information. A heat transfer image-receiving material having a notch at an end in heat mode laser type heat transfer recording in which an ink layer is transferred to a surface according to image information.

(6) The thermal transfer image receiving material according to any one of (1) to (5), which has a cushion layer between the support and the image receiving layer of the thermal transfer image receiving material.

(7) The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to (6), wherein the cushion layer has an elastic modulus of 200 kg / cm ² or less at 25 ° C.

(8) The glass transition temperature of the cushion layer is
The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to (6), which has a temperature of 25 ° C. or lower.

(9) The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to (6), wherein the transmittance of the support and the cushion layer together is 70% or more with respect to the wavelength of the near-infrared light of 700 to 1000 nm which is most transmitted. ..

(10) The thermal transfer image receiving material according to (6), wherein the cushion layer has a refractive index smaller than that of the support by 0.02 or more.

(11) The thermal transfer image receiving material according to any one of (6) to (10), wherein the cushion layer has a thickness of 5 μm or more. (12) By superimposing the ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material and the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material and irradiating light according to the image information from the back surface of the thermal transfer recording material or the thermal transfer image receiving material, an image is formed on the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material. In heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording in which an ink layer is transferred according to information, the thermal transfer image receiving material has a porous layer having at least fine voids on a support.

(13) An image receiving layer is further provided on the porous layer.
(12) The thermal transfer image-receiving material as described above. (14) The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to (13), wherein the porous layer has a thickness of 5 μm or more and an average surface roughness of 1 μm or less.

The present invention will be described in more detail below.

First, the recording material used together with the image receiving material of the present invention will be described.

The recording material has a structure in which at least a heat-fusible ink layer is laminated on a support and has a function of converting light irradiated imagewise into heat. A peeling layer or a cushion layer can be provided between the support and the hot-melt ink layer.

The function of converting the imagewise irradiated light into heat is, for example, the inclusion of a photothermal conversion substance in the heat-meltable ink layer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "ink layer"), or adjacent to the ink layer. It can be realized by providing a photothermal conversion layer containing a photothermal conversion substance.

Any support can be used as long as it has good dimensional stability and can withstand heat during image formation. Specifically, it is described in JP-A-63-193886, page 2, lower left column, lines 12-18. Films or sheets can be used. Further, when the image is formed by irradiating the laser beam from the recording material side, it is desirable that the support of the recording material is transparent. The support of the recording material need not be transparent as long as the image is formed by irradiating the laser beam from the image receiving material side. The thickness of the support is not particularly limited, but is usually 2 to 300 μm, preferably 5 to 200 μm.

A backing layer may be provided on the back surface of the support (the surface opposite to the surface provided with the ink layer) in order to impart functions such as running stability, heat resistance, and antistatic properties. The backing layer is, for example, a resin such as nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent, or a binder resin and 20 ~ 30μ
It can be formed by applying a coating solution for a backing layer, in which fine particles of m are dissolved or dispersed in a solvent, to the surface of a support.

The cushion layer is provided for the purpose of increasing the close contact between the recording material and the image receiving material. This cushion layer is a layer having thermal softening properties and elasticity, and a material having a low elastic modulus or a material having rubber elasticity may be used. Specifically, natural rubber, acrylate rubber, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber, butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, styrene-
Butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, urethane rubber, silicone rubber, acrylic rubber, fluororubber, neoprene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, epichlorohydrin, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber),
Elastomers such as urethane elastomer, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutadiene, polybutene, impact resistant ABS resin, polyurethane, ABS resin, acetate, cellulose acetate, amide resin, polytetrafluoroethylene, nitrocellulose, polystyrene,
Epoxy resin, phenol-formaldehyde resin, polyester, impact-resistant acrylic resin, styrene-butadiene copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetate Among these, plasticizer-containing vinyl chloride resin, vinylidene chloride resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, and the like can be cited as resins having a small elastic modulus.

Further, these materials can be applied at the time of forming the support to give the support itself cushioning properties.

The cushion layer may be formed by coating the above material dissolved in a solvent or dispersed in a latex form with a blade coater, roll coater, bar coater, curtain coater, gravure coater, or the like.
An extrusion lamination method using hot melt, a method of laminating a film sheet and a substrate, or the like can be applied.

The cushion layer promotes close contact with the medium to be transferred by heat softening or lowering of elastic modulus during light irradiation. The preferable thickness of the cushion layer is 5 to 30 μm.

The photothermal conversion layer can be provided adjacent to the ink layer. As described above, the photothermal conversion substance may be contained in the ink layer. When the photothermal conversion substance is not substantially transparent, it is desirable to provide a photothermal conversion layer separately from the ink layer in consideration of the color reproducibility of the transferred image.

When a photothermal conversion substance is used, it varies depending on the light source, but a substance that absorbs light and efficiently converts it into heat is preferable. For example, when a semiconductor laser is used as a light source, a substance having an absorption band in the near infrared region. Preferably, specifically, carbon black, graphite, phthalocyanine dyes, squarylium dyes, croconium dyes, azurenium dyes, nitroso compounds and their metal complex salts, polymethine dyes, dithiol metal complex salt dyes, triarylmethane dyes. ,, indoaniline metal complex dyes, naphthoquinone dyes, anthraquinone dyes and the like can be used. Specifically, JP-A 63-139191 and JP-A 3-1
Examples thereof include compounds described in No. 03476.

As the binder in the light-heat conversion layer,
Resins with high glass transition point (Tg) and high thermal conductivity, such as polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, polystyrene, ethylcellulose, nitrocellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polyimide, polyetherimide, polysulfone, polyethersulfone A general heat-resistant resin such as aramid or the like can be used.

Of these, water-soluble polymers are preferable because they have good releasability from the ink layer. When a water-soluble polymer is used, it is desirable that the photothermal conversion substance be modified to be water-soluble (by introduction of a sulfo group) or dispersed in an aqueous system.

The thickness of the photothermal conversion layer is preferably 0.1 to 3 μm, more preferably 0.2 to 1.0 μm. The content of the light-heat conversion substance in the light-heat conversion layer is usually 0.3 to 3.0, more preferably the absorbance at the wavelength of the light source used for image recording.
You can decide to be 0.7-2.5.

The light-heat conversion layer may be formed as a vapor deposition film in addition to the above. Carbon black, gold, silver, aluminum, chromium, nickel, antimony and tellurium described in JP-A-52-20842 can be used. Examples include vapor-deposited layers of metal black such as bismuth and selenium.
The light-heat converting substance may be the color material itself of the ink layer, and is not limited to the above, and various substances can be used.

The ink layer means a layer which is melted or softened when heated and is transferable for each layer containing a coloring material, a binder and the like, and need not be transferred in a completely melted state.

Examples of the coloring material include pigments such as inorganic pigments and organic pigments, and dyes.

Examples of the inorganic pigments include titanium dioxide, carbon black, zinc oxide, Prussian blue, cadmium sulfide, iron oxide and chromates of lead, zinc, barium and calcium.

The organic pigments include azo, thioindigo, anthraquinone, anthanthrone, triphendioxazine pigments, vat dye pigments, phthalocyanine pigments (eg copper phthalocyanine) and their derivatives,
Examples include quinacridone pigment.

Examples of organic dyes include acid dyes, direct dyes, disperse dyes, oil-soluble dyes, metal-containing oil-soluble dyes and sublimable dyes.

The content of the coloring material in the ink layer is not particularly limited, but is usually in the range of 5 to 70% by weight, preferably 10 to 60% by weight.

Examples of the binder for the ink layer include a heat-melting substance, a heat-softening substance, and a thermoplastic resin, and those used in known heat-melting ink materials can be applied as they are.

Specific examples of the heat-fusible substance include vegetable waxes such as carnauba wax, wood wax, auricurie wax and espal wax;
Animal waxes such as beeswax, insect wax, shellac wax and whale wax; petroleum waxes such as paraffin wax, microcrystal wax, polyethylene wax, ester wax, acid wax; and waxes such as mineral wax such as montan wax, ozokerite and ceresin. In addition to these waxes, palmitic acid, stearic acid,
Higher fatty acids such as margaric acid and behenic acid; higher alcohols such as palmityl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, marganyl alcohol, myricyl alcohol, eicosanol; cetyl palmitate,
Higher fatty acid esters such as myricyl palmitate, cetyl stearate, myricyl stearate; acetamide,
Examples thereof include amides such as propionic acid amide, palmitic acid amide, stearic acid amide, and amide wax; and higher amines such as stearylamine, behenylamine, and palmitylamine.

As the thermoplastic resin, an ethylene copolymer, a polyamide resin, a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, a polyolefin resin, an acrylic resin, a vinyl chloride resin, a cellulose resin, a rosin resin, Resins such as polyvinyl alcohol resin, polyvinyl acetal resin, ionomer resin, petroleum resin;
Natural rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber,
Elastomers such as chloroprene rubber and diene copolymers; ester gums, rosin maleic acid resins, rosin phenol resins, rosin derivatives such as hydrogenated rosins; and phenol resins, terpene resins, cyclopentadiene resins, aromatic hydrocarbon resins, etc. Examples thereof include high molecular compounds.

By appropriately selecting the above-mentioned heat-meltable substance and thermoplastic substance, a heat-softenable ink layer having a desired heat-softening point or heat-melting point can be formed.

The thickness of the ink layer is preferably 0.2 to 2 μm, more preferably 0.3 to 1.5 μm.

Next, the image receiving material of the present invention will be described.

The image receiving material forms an image by receiving the ink layer imagewise peeled from the recording material. Usually, the image receiving material has a support and an image receiving layer, and may be formed of only the support. However, an adhesive resin may be coated in order to improve the adhesiveness with the ink. As the material used for the adhesive layer, the thermoplastic resin used for the ink layer can be applied as it is. A cushion layer may be provided as in the ink sheet. The cushion layer is particularly effective when the ink that has been once received is further transferred to another transfer medium (such as paper).

It is desirable that the image receiving material has excellent dimensional stability so that an image can be properly formed. Further, heat resistance is required in the case of laminating on another transferred material.

The image receiving material of the present invention has an end surface of the image receiving material in which the average surface roughness of the end surface portion of the image receiving surface is made larger than the average surface roughness of the central portion for the purpose of enhancing the adhesion to the ink layer of the recording material. It is characterized in that a porous layer is provided on the support having an intermediate layer between the support and the image receiving layer, which is provided with a cut.

As a method of making the average surface roughness of the end surface portion of the image receiving material larger than the average surface roughness of the central portion, that is, roughening, (a) a matting material is contained, (b) embossing is performed to make unevenness. (C) Shaving off with fine protrusions to make unevenness.

An organic or inorganic mat material is used as the mat material. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as the organic matting material, metal oxides (zinc oxide, alumina, titanium oxide, etc.), silicates (calcium silicate), sulfates (barium sulfate), carbonates (calcium carbonate) as the inorganic matting material. ) And the like. The particle size of the mat material is preferably 1 to 20 μm, and the addition amount is 10 particles / mm ^{2 on the} surface of the image receiving layer.
The above is enough.

For embossing, usually paper, leather,
The equipment used for processing plastics is sufficient.

Sandpaper or the like can be used as the fine projections for scraping off the ends. At this time, it is preferable that the difference between the convex portion and the concave portion in the depth direction is 5 μm or more.

Further, it is advantageous that the notch formed at the end has the shape of a stamp.

The cushion layer provided between the support and the image receiving layer has an elastic modulus of 200 kg / cm ² or less at 25 ° C.,
Or / and Tg is preferably 25 ° C or lower.

To form a cushion layer having an elastic modulus of 200 kg / cm ² (25 ° C.) or less, the materials and methods described for the cushion layer can be used.

The transmittance through the support and the cushion layer is 70% or more with respect to the wavelength that is most transmitted in the near infrared region of 700 to 1000 nm, and the refractive index of the cushion layer is higher than that of the support. Both being smaller by 0.02 or more and having a thickness of the cushion layer of 5 μm or more are both preferable modes for exerting the effects of the present invention.

The porous layer which is preferably provided on the support of the image-receiving material of the present invention is a microbubble-containing layer. As a method of forming a layer containing fine bubbles, in the case of a coating method, a method of containing bubbles by mechanical stirring of a coating liquid to apply / dry, a coating liquid containing a foaming agent was applied / dried. A method of foaming a foaming agent afterwards, a method of coating and drying containing hollow fine particles, a solvent for dissolving the following resin, and a solvent having a higher boiling point than the solvent and having an affinity for the solvent and having a solubility in the resin There are a method of mixing a non-existent solvent and coating / drying, a method of coating / drying a coating liquid mixed with a high-boiling solvent, and then immersing in a solvent to elute the high-boiling solvent.

In the case of the laminating method, a method of laminating a resin molten composition containing a foaming agent, followed by heating to foam, a method of laminating a molten composition containing hollow fine particles, and a cushion layer are formed. A method of incorporating fine particles into the molten composition, extruding the molten composition, stretching at least uniaxially to form a sheet containing microbubbles, and laminating it on a support, and a component soluble in a solvent and dissolution After melt kneading and laminating with the ingredients that do not,
It can be formed by a method of dipping in a solvent to dissolve the dissolved component.

In addition, a sheet-shaped composition which has been foamed in advance,
You may stick together via an adhesive agent.

Resins forming the porous layer include polyuritane, polyester, polybutadiene, poly (meth)
Examples thereof include acrylic acid ester, epoxy, polyamide, rosin-modified phenol, terpene phenol, polyolefin-based and cellulose-based resins, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, gelatin and casein.

The thickness of the porous layer is preferably 5 μm or more, and the average surface roughness thereof is preferably 1 μm or less. It is also a preferred embodiment to further provide an image receiving layer on the porous layer.

The image-receiving layer can be formed of a binder, various additives added as necessary, and a substance for imparting the cushioning property.

As the binder used in the image receiving layer,
Adhesives such as ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymer adhesives, polyvinyl acetate emulsion adhesives, chloroprene adhesives, epoxy resin adhesives, natural rubber, chloroprene rubbers, butyl rubbers, polybutadiene rubbers, polyacrylates Examples thereof include adhesives such as resins, nitrile rubbers, polysulfides, silicone rubbers, rosin resins, vinyl chloride resins, petroleum resins and ionomer resins, recycled rubbers, SBR, polyisoprene, polyvinyl ethers and the like.

The thickness of the support in the image receiving material having the support, the cushion layer and the image receiving layer, or the thickness of the support in the image receiving material formed of only the support and the porous layer is not particularly limited, but is usually Used in the range of 5 to 300 μm. The thickness of the image receiving layer is usually 0.1 to 20 μm, but is 5 to 20 μm when a porous layer is used as the image receiving layer.

[0069]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

Example 1 First, a recording material used in combination with the image receiving material of the present invention was prepared.

An ink sheet was prepared by sequentially coating the following cushion layer, photothermal conversion layer and ink layer on a 100 μm PET (polyethylene terephthalate) support.

In the following composition, "part" means part by weight.

(Cushion Layer) A cushion layer coating solution (JSR0617: carboxy-modified styrene-butadiene resin made by Japan Synthetic Rubber) was applied and dried using a blade coater. Dry film thickness 60 μm.

(Light-to-heat conversion layer) A coating solution for the light-to-heat conversion layer having the following composition was prepared, and was coated and dried on the cushion layer using a wire bar. Thickness 0.3 μm. The absorbance at 830 nm is
It was 1.3.

Photothermal conversion substance (IR-1) 3.5 parts Polyvinyl alcohol 3.5 parts Water 93.0 parts

[0076]

[Chemical 1]

(Ink Layer) A coating liquid for an ink layer having the following composition was prepared, and was coated on the photothermal conversion layer with a wire bar and dried. Dry film thickness 0.5 μm. DS-90 (Harima Kasei) 4.7 parts SD0012 (Tokyo Ink paraffin wax dispersion) 0.5 parts EV-40Y (Mitsui DuPont) 0.5 parts Dioctyl phthalate 0.3 parts MHI-R527 (Mikuni pigment magenta pigment) 4.0 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 90.0 Parts (Preparation of Image Receiving Material) Three kinds of image receiving materials according to the present invention were prepared as follows.

Image Receiving Material-1 An image receiving sheet A was prepared by coating EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer) on a 75 μm PET support so that the dry film thickness was 1 μm. Image-receiving material-1 was prepared by applying EVA as a binder to the 1 cm width of the edge of this sheet as a matting agent so that the amount of silica-based fine particles having an average particle size of 8 μm was 20 mg / m ² . "See FIG. 1 (a)" Image Receiving Material-2 Same as Image Receiving Material-1 Edge 1 cm width and depth of image receiving sheet A
The image-receiving material-2 was embossed with a period of 20 μm and a period of 100 μm. "See Fig. 1 (b)" Image Receiving Material-3 On a 75 µm PET support, the elastic modulus at 25 ° C was about 20 kg / cm ² ,
Glass transition point (Tg) 18 ℃ (Vibron measuring machine, 11Hz)
SBR0617 (manufactured by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.) was applied to a dry film thickness of 30 μm to form a cushion layer.

RB as an image receiving layer is formed on the cushion layer.
820 (polybutadiene resin: made by Japan Synthetic Rubber) dissolved in toluene is applied to provide (dry film thickness 2μ
m) and an image receiving sheet B were prepared. A stamp-like cut shown in FIG. 1 (c) was made around this sheet to obtain an image receiving material-3.

The transmittance of the image receiving material-3 at 830 nm was 90%. (The refractive index of PET is 1.65, and the refractive index of the intermediate layer is 1.5.
5) an image-receiving sheet B and the elastic modulus was created an image receiving material -3 _C, 3 _D and 3 _E using an image-receiving sheet C, D and E having a glass transition point is provided with a cushion layer provided on different following materials.

Material Elasticity Glass transition point (kg / mm ² ) (℃) Image Receiving Sheet C Polyurethane CA-118 220 63 (Toyo Morton) Image Receiving Sheet D Polyurethane CA-128 70 18 (Toyo Morton) Image Receiving Sheet E Hi-Tech S-8533 37 15 (Thermal transfer recording) Image receiving material-1,2, A, B, 3,3 _C ,
The 3 _D, 3-receiving surface of the _E superimposed on the ink layer of the ink sheet, sucked crimped from the support side of the image receiving material as in FIG. 2, the image information from the support side of the ink sheet a semiconductor laser (absorption maximum 830 nm) After being subjected to scanning exposure with, the image receiving sheet was peeled from the ink sheet to obtain a transferred image on the image receiving material. The results are shown below.

Image Receiving Material Image Receiving Material Cushion Layer Adhesion Time * Location of uneven transfer shape A Flat ink 60 minutes or more ○ 1 Silica ink 10 minutes or less ○ 2 Embossing ink 10 minutes or less ○ B Flat ink + Image receiving 60 minutes or more ○ 3 Cuts ink + receiving 10 minutes or less ○ 3 _C cuts ink + receiving 10 minutes or less ○ 3 _D cut ink + receiving 10 minutes or less ◎ 3 _E notches ink + receiving 10 minutes or less ◎ * A4 time required to completely close contact with the sample sheet (The degree of vacuum is 400 torr.) In the above examples, good images without transfer unevenness were obtained, but image receiving materials A and B were used.
Took a long time to make vacuum contact so as to prevent uneven transfer.

Example 2 A 75 μm PET support was coated with a coating solution for forming a porous layer having the following composition and dried to form a porous layer. "See Fig. 1 (d)" (Porous layer-1) Polyurethane resin (Takelac T: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) 15 parts Toluene / i-propyl alcohol (2/1) mixed solution 85 parts Dissolved and then mixed with water 40 parts did. A slightly cloudy solution.

(Porous Layer-2) Polyester (Elitel UE-3690: Unitika) 74 parts Butyltin laurate (BL-42A: Akishima Chemical Co., Ltd.) 4 parts Barium-zinc organic compound (LT701B: Akishima Chemical Co., Ltd.) 4 parts Silica (average particle size 0.015 μm) 4 parts Calcium carbonate (average particle size 0.2 μm) 4 parts In the same manner as in Example 1 on this porous layer-1 and 2.
RB820 (polybutadiene resin: made by Japan Synthetic Rubber) dissolved in toluene was applied and dried to form an image receiving layer, and image receiving materials -4 and 5 were prepared.

The image receiving materials-4 and 5 thus obtained and the image receiving sheet A in Example 1 (corresponding to the image receiving material-4 or 5 from which the porous layer was removed) and the same ink sheet as in Example 1 were used. Heat mode laser type thermal transfer was carried out using the same and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1.

In this example as well, a good transferred image was obtained, but the image-receiving materials-4 and 5 were able to significantly reduce the contact time as compared with the image-receiving sheet A.

[0087]

According to the present invention, the adhesion between the thermal transfer recording material and the thermal transfer image receiving material in the heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording is enhanced, and a good transferred image without unevenness can be obtained. Further, the time required for the recording material and the image receiving material to adhere to each other can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (a) is a cross-sectional view of an image receiving material-3 of the present invention in which a mat member is contained in the end portion of the image receiving layer. (b) Sectional drawing of the image receiving material-2 of this invention which embossed the edge part of an image receiving layer. (c) the image-receiving material of the present invention in which a notch is formed in the edge of the image-receiving layer
3 is a plan view of FIG. (d) The image-receiving material of the present invention in which the cushion layer is a porous layer-
Sectional drawing of 4 and 5.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a vacuum adhesion method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Support 2 Cushion Layer 3 Image Receiving Layer 4 Porous Layer 11 Thermal Transfer Image Receiving Material 12 Thermal Transfer Recording Material 13 Adhesion Drum 14 Pressure Reduction Hole 15 Pressure Reduction Direction

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Sota Kawakami 1st Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo Konica Stock Company In-house

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An image receiving surface of a thermal transfer image receiving material by superimposing an ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material and an image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material and irradiating light according to image information from the back surface of the thermal transfer recording material or the thermal transfer image receiving material. In a heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording in which an ink layer is transferred in accordance with image information, a thermal transfer image receiving material characterized in that the average surface roughness of the end portions is larger than the average surface roughness of the central portion. 2. The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to claim 1, wherein the end portion of the thermal transfer image receiving material contains a matting material having a larger average particle diameter than the central portion, or only the end portion contains the matting material. Thermal transfer image receiving material. 3. The thermal transfer image receiving material according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the thermal transfer image receiving material is embossed to make unevenness. 4. The thermal transfer image receiving material according to claim 1, wherein the thermal transfer image receiving material is provided with irregularities by shaving off an end portion of the thermal transfer image receiving material with fine projections. 5. The image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material is formed by superimposing the ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material and the image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material and irradiating light from the back surface of the thermal transfer recording material or the thermal transfer image receiving material according to image information. In a heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording in which an ink layer is transferred according to the image information, a thermal transfer image receiving material having a notch at an end. 6. The thermal transfer image receiving material according to claim 1, further comprising a cushion layer between the support and the image receiving layer of the thermal transfer image receiving material. 7. The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to claim 6, wherein the elastic modulus of the cushion layer is 200 kg / cm ² or less at 25 ° C. 8. The glass transition temperature of the cushion layer is 25.
7. The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to claim 6, which has a temperature of not higher than ° C. 9. The transmittance of the support and the cushion layer together is 70% or more with respect to the wavelength of the best transmission in the near infrared light of 700 to 1000 nm.
The thermal transfer image-receiving material as described above. 10. The thermal transfer image receiving material according to claim 6, wherein the refractive index of the cushion layer is smaller than the refractive index of the support by 0.02 or more. 11. The thermal transfer image receiving material according to claim 6, wherein the thickness of the cushion layer is 5 μm or more. 12. An image receiving surface of a thermal transfer image receiving material by superimposing an ink surface of the thermal transfer recording material and an image receiving surface of the thermal transfer image receiving material and irradiating light according to image information from the back surface of the thermal transfer recording material or the thermal transfer image receiving material. In the heat mode laser type thermal transfer recording in which the ink layer is transferred depending on the image information, the thermal transfer image receiving material is characterized in that the thermal transfer image receiving material has a porous layer having at least fine voids on a support. 13. The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to claim 12, further comprising an image-receiving layer on the porous layer. 14. The porous layer having a thickness of 5 μm or more,
14. The thermal transfer image-receiving material according to claim 13, which has an average surface roughness of 1 μm or less.