JPH06198932A - Method for heat transfer recording - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method for heat transfer recording wherein a solid article such as a corrugated board and an article with a rough face can be directly transferred and the transfer can be automatically performed. CONSTITUTION:A method for heat transfer recording consists of a process wherein a heat transfer recording medium 1 prepd. by providing an ink layer. on a substrate is carried to the first transfer position and an image pattern is printed by heating on the first medium 2 to be transferred and a process wherein after the heat-printing process, the heat transfer recording medium is continuously carried to the second transfer position and the remaining pattern on the ink layer on the heat transfer medium is heat-transferred by pressing onto the second medium 3 to be transferred.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording method capable of directly transferring to a three-dimensional object or an object having a rough surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is no suitable method capable of directly performing thermal printing on a three-dimensional object such as a cardboard or an object having a rough surface by using a thermal transfer recording method. Was pasted on. However, when label paper is used, die cutting and backing paper are required, resulting in increased cost, and a machine for automatically applying labels is needed. Further, in JP-A-61-219693, in order to print a color image on a transfer medium such as cloth or wood in addition to paper, a pattern is drawn (heat-printed on another transfer medium by using a color thermal transfer film). ), A method of thermally transferring the remaining image to the transfer medium by ironing is described. This method was poor in reproducibility due to manual work, and it was difficult to obtain a satisfactory image due to wrinkles.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording method which can not only directly transfer to a three-dimensional object such as a cardboard or an object having a rough surface without the above-mentioned drawbacks but also can perform the transfer automatically. To provide.

[0004]

That is, according to the present invention,
A step of conveying a thermal transfer recording medium having an ink layer provided on a support to a first transfer position to thermally print an image pattern on the first transfer medium, and continuously performing the thermal transfer recording medium after the thermal printing step. Specifically, there is provided a thermal transfer recording method including a step of transferring the residual pattern of the ink layer on the thermal transfer medium to the second transfer medium by thermal pressure transfer to a second transfer position.

As the first transfer medium used in the present invention, any of various sheets, such as various films, papers, cloths and the like can be used, but particularly preferable ones are sharpness of printing, wrinkles during transportation, From the viewpoint of running cost, polyester film, polyethylene film (especially HDPE), high quality paper having a smoothness of 100 seconds or more, coated paper and art paper are preferable. If the smoothness is low, the problems of image sharpness and background stain occur. The above-mentioned film may be unprocessed, but matting is more preferable in terms of printing sharpness and repeatability. Thickness is determined by transportability and cost, but in general, film is 6
˜50 μm, preferably 40-100 μm for paper. If it is thinner than that, wrinkles will appear. On the other hand, if the thickness is thicker than that, the rigidity is too high and the sharpness of printing is deteriorated, resulting in an increase in cost.

As the thermal transfer recording medium used in the present invention, a known wax type or resin type can be used, but a medium having a particulate ink is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of sharpness. In particular, a support having a heat-resistant film provided with such an ink layer is preferably used. Further, as a means for transferring the image on the thermal transfer recording medium to the second transfer medium, a heat roll or a heat plate may be used, but a heat roll is preferable in view of the uniformity of transfer and the pressing property. The transfer temperature varies depending on the thermal characteristics of the thermal transfer recording medium used, but is preferably 80 to 200 ° C. Also, in consideration of the transfer to the second transfer medium having poor surface property, the elastic rubber material is used. Rolls having are preferred.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a thermal transfer recording medium wound in a roll shape, and is conveyed to a first transfer position where a thermal head 5 is arranged. At the first transfer position, it is brought into close contact with the first transfer medium 2 guided on the platen and pressed by the thermal head 5 to form a desired image pattern (negative image) on the first transfer position. After printing on the medium 2, the thermal transfer recording medium is then conveyed to the second transfer position where the thermal roll 4 is provided, and the positive image remaining on the second transferred medium 3 is pressed by the second transfer medium 3. After transfer, it is taken up on a take-up roll. On the other hand, the first transfer target medium 2 wound in a roll shape is wound on a roll after the negative image is transferred from the thermal transfer recording medium on the platen as described above. First transferred medium 20 after being printed
May be used as a print copy, and may be used repeatedly unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 2 shows a first transfer medium 20 on which a negative image (a portion other than the positive image A) is printed from the thermal transfer recording medium 1 and a thermal transfer recording medium (positive image A) after printing on the first transfer medium.
Thermal transfer medium 10 having a positive image A
From the second transfer medium 30 onto which the positive image A has been transferred
1 shows the thermal transfer recording medium 100 in which the ink layer after transfer onto the transfer target medium has disappeared.

[0009]

The pattern (negative image) printing step on the first transfer medium by the thermal head is performed by using the thermal transfer recording medium wound from the roll-shaped winding, and then the thermal roll provided in the traveling direction. Or, by performing a residual pattern (positive image) thermal transfer process on the second transfer medium by a heat plate, a sharp image can be obtained from a single thermal transfer recording medium to a three-dimensional object such as a cardboard and an object having a poor surface property. Can be consistently heat transferred.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Further, the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention will be used in more detail in the examples in which thermal transfer recording is performed on a cardboard using the thermal transfer apparatus shown in FIG.

Example 1 The operating conditions of the thermal transfer device, the thermal transfer recording medium, and the type of the first transfer target medium are as follows,
Thermal transfer was performed. 1) Thermal transfer recording medium: Ricoh smearless ribbon B
110A 2) first transfer medium: polyester film (thickness 25 [mu] m, smoothness of 30000 seconds) 3) Printing speed: 4 in / sec 4) printing energy: 15 mJ / mm ² 5) of the heat roll temperature: 100 ° C. ( Silicone rubber) 6) Second transfer medium: cardboard with smoothness of 20 seconds As a result, good printing with excellent sharpness and few voids was obtained on the cardboard. Also, the first transfer medium could be used repeatedly (each side can be used three times or more).

[Examples 2 to 14] The operating conditions were set as shown in Tables 1 (1) to (3), respectively, and the results shown in the same table were obtained.

[Reference 1] The same procedure as in Example 1 was repeated except that a cardboard (smoothness of the cover sheet was 20 seconds) was used as the first transfer medium, and both the sharpness and the void were poor (both x). Was not possible (see Table 1).

[0014]

[Table 1- (1)]

[0015]

[Table 1- (2)]

[0016]

[Table 1- (3)]

[0017]

As described above, using the thermal transfer recording medium wound from the roll-shaped winding as described above, the heat provided in the advancing direction after the step of printing the pattern (negative image) on the first transferred medium is performed. Residual pattern (positive image) on the second transfer medium by roll or heat plate By the thermal transfer process, a sharp image can be consistently formed from a single thermal transfer recording medium to a three-dimensional object such as corrugated cardboard and an object with poor surface property. Can be thermally transferred. Further, the first transfer medium can be repeatedly used, and the label can be eliminated, so that the running cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a thermal transfer device used in a thermal transfer recording method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a thermal transfer recording medium and a part of each transfer target medium in the thermal transfer recording method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Thermal Transfer Recording Medium 2 First Transfer Medium 3 Second Transfer Medium 4 Thermal Roll 5 Thermal Head 10 Thermal Transfer Recording Medium after Image Transfer to First Transfer Medium 20 Image Transferred (Image Received) No. No. 1 transfer medium 30 second image-transferred medium 100 thermal transfer recording medium after image transfer to second transfer medium

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Shinji Okada 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A step of conveying a thermal transfer recording medium having an ink layer provided on a support to a first transfer position to thermally print an image pattern on the first transfer medium, and after the thermal printing step, A thermal transfer recording method comprising a step of continuously transporting a thermal transfer recording medium to a second transfer position, and thermally and pressure-transferring a residual pattern of an ink layer on the thermal transfer medium onto a second transfer medium. 2. The thermal transfer recording method according to claim 1, wherein the thermal printing of the image pattern is performed by a thermal head, and the thermal pressure transfer of the residual pattern is performed by a hot roll or a hot plate. . 3. The thermal transfer recording method according to claim 1, wherein the first transfer medium is any one of a polyester film, a polyethylene film and a paper having a smoothness of 100 seconds or more. 4. The thermal transfer recording method according to claim 3, wherein the polyester film or the polyethylene film has a thickness of 6 to 50 μm. 5. The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 3, wherein the paper has a thickness of 40 to 100 μm.