JPH06206380A - Thermal transfer coloring matter donating material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To raise the speed and enhance the density of recording, by a method wherein, in the material printing an image of a color video, a binder resin is constituted mainly of thermoplastic resin whose glass transition temperature or softening point is specified. CONSTITUTION:As binder resin, it is formed mainly of thermoplastic resin wherein the glass transition temperature is not exceeding 50 deg.C or the softening point is not exceeding 160 deg.C. For example, polybutadiene or polybenzyl acrylate is available as a matter having the glass transition temperature of not exceeding 50 deg.C and acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene copolymer or polypropylene is available as a matter having the softening point of not exceeding 160 deg.C. In addition, these may be even a single or combined use or mixed with the other resin such as polyamide. Further, molecular weight of those thermoplastic resin shouled preferably be 2000 to 20000.

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 material for recording an image by a thermal transfer system by heating corresponding to image information, and in particular, for rapidly obtaining a clear and high density recorded image. It relates to a thermal transfer dye-donor element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, thermal transfer systems have been developed for obtaining prints from images electronically formed by color video cameras. According to one method of obtaining such prints, the image is first color separated with color filters. Next, the color-separated images are exchanged for electrical signals. Subsequently, these signals are manipulated to generate yellow, magenta and cyan electrical signals. These signals are then transmitted to the thermal printer. To obtain a print, a yellow, magenta or cyan dye-donor element is placed face-to-face with a dye-image receiving element. Subsequently, the both are inserted between the thermal head and the platen roller. A line type thermal head is used to heat from the back of the dye-donor element. The line type thermal head has a large number of heating elements and is sequentially heated in response to any one signal of yellow, magenta and cyan. This process is then repeated for the other two colors.
In this way, a color hard copy corresponding to the original image is obtained.

An alternative method of obtaining a thermal print using the aforementioned electrical signal is to use a laser instead of a thermal head. In this system, the dye-donor or image-receiving material contains a material that strongly absorbs the laser beam. When a dye-donor material and an image-receiving material are superposed and irradiated with a laser beam, the absorbing material converts light energy into heat energy and immediately transfers the heat to a nearby dye, thereby transferring the dye to the image-receiving material. Heat to the heat transfer temperature of. The absorbent material is present in layers below the dye and / or is admixed with the dye, or is present in or in contact with the receiving layer. The laser beam is modulated with an electrical signal that represents the shape and color of the original image, heating only the areas of the dye that need to be present on the dye-donor material to reconstitute the original target color and heat transfer.

[0004]

In order to reduce the load on the thermal head and to increase the recording speed, it is preferable to use a dye that is easily heat-transferred as the dye-donor material used in the heat transfer transfer method. On the other hand, on the other hand, there is a problem that the dye is deposited during storage or in an environment of high temperature and high humidity, or it is transferred to a contact substance and contaminated. Also,
There is a problem that the dye-donor material and the image-receiving material are fused with each other by heating with a thermal head or a laser and the image quality is deteriorated.
Usually, the dye-donor element is conveyed in the recording apparatus and heated to the necessary parts, but at this time, the dye-donor element may be wrinkled or may slip between the image-receiving element during thermal transfer. There is a problem that the image quality deteriorates. Further, there are problems that the recorded image is discolored during storage and the image is blurred.

(Object of the Invention) The object of the present invention is to provide a novel dye-donor element which overcomes the above problems. In particular, it is for quickly obtaining high-density transfer recording.

[0006]

It has been found that the above-mentioned object of the present invention can be solved by the dye-donor element of the present invention shown below. A thermal transfer dye-donating material comprising a support and a dye-donor layer containing a heat-transferable dye and a binder resin, wherein the binder resin in the dye-donor layer has a glass transition temperature of 50 ° C. or lower or a softening point of 160 ° C. or lower. 1. A thermal transfer dye-donor material comprising the thermoplastic resin as a main component.

The binder resin used in the dye-donor layer of the present invention has a glass transition temperature of 50 ° C. or lower or a softening point of 1.
A resin whose main component is a thermoplastic resin having a temperature of 60 ° C. or lower is used. The thermoplastic resin is as follows. Resin 2
When divided, it is divided into a thermosetting resin and a thermoplastic resin. That is, it has thermoplasticity, does not easily deform at room temperature, has elasticity and does not show plasticity, but it shows plasticity by appropriate heating, molding becomes possible, and when cooled and the temperature drops, it returns to the original state. Thermoplastic resins are those that undergo a reversible change back to an elastic body and do not undergo chemical changes such as molecular structure during that time. The glass transition temperature is a temperature at which the resin has a rubber-like elasticity above this temperature and becomes hard and brittle below this temperature. The softening point is the temperature at which the resin begins to degenerate when it is heated at a constant rate, and corresponds to the heat distortion temperature.

The thermoplastic resin includes a) vinyl resins such as polyvinyl acrylonitrile resin, polyacrylic ester resin, polystyrene resin, polyethylene resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin and its derivatives such as polyvinyl butyral. Resin etc. b) Ester resins such as polyester resin and polycarbonate resin. c) Amide-based resin such as polyamide resin, polyamide-imide resin d) Ether-based resin such as polyacetal resin, polyaryt resin, polyether ether ketone resin, polyoxyethylene resin, polyphenylene ether resin and the like. Other known ketone resins, phenoxy resins, polysulfone resins, etc., or cellulose derivatives or liquid crystal polymer resins,

As the binder resin of the present invention, a resin having a glass transition temperature of 50 ° C. or lower or a softening point of 160 ° C. or lower is used. Specifically, for example, the following resins are known: polybutadiene (glass transition temperature (Tg) −58 ° C.) polybenzyl acrylate (Tg 6 ° C.) polybutyl acrylamide (Tg 46 ° C.) polybutyl methacrylate (Tg 20 ° C.) poly Ethoxyethylene (Tg-43 ° C) Polymethoxybenzoylethylene (Tg 46 ° C) Polydichloroethylene (Tg-18 ° C) Polyvinyl acetate (Tg 32 ° C) Poly p-ethylstyrene (Tg 27 ° C) Polyoxy-t-butylethylene (Tg 35) ℃) Nylon 66 (Tg 50 ℃) Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (softening point 96 ℃) Elitel UE3221 (Unitika polyester) (Softening point 112 ℃) Byron 600 (Toyobo polyester) (Softening point 155 ℃) Smig FT (Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer) (Softening point -70 ° C) Polypropylene (Softening point 150 ° C) Vinylidene chloride (Softening point 60 ° C) Cellulose acetate (Softening point 70 ° C) Ethyl cellulose (Softening point 90 ° C) Polystyrene ( Softening point 104 ℃)

These polymers may be used alone or in a mixture. Among these polymers, polyester resin is preferable. Moreover, you may mix and use it with the other resin shown below. The molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin of the present invention is preferably 2000 to 20,000, and particularly preferably 2000 to 8000. A glass transition temperature of 50 ° C. or lower is used, but 40 ° C. or lower is preferable. The softening point is 160 ° C. or lower, preferably 100 ° C. or lower.

Further, as the other binder resin used together with the above-mentioned binder resin, any of the conventionally known binder resins for such purpose can be used.
In general, a material having high heat resistance and which does not prevent migration of the dye when heated is selected. For example, polyamide resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, polyacrylic resin (for example, polymethylmethacrylate, polyacrylamide, polystyrene-2-
Acrylonitrile), vinyl-based resins such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl chloride-based resins (for example, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer), polycarbonate-based resins, polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide, cellulose-based resins (for example, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose) , Cellulose acetate hydrogen phthalate, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose triacetate), polyvinyl alcohol resin (eg partially saponified polyvinyl alcohol such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral), petroleum resin, rosin derivative , Coumarone-indene resin, terpene resin, polyolefin resin (eg polyethylene, polypropylene) Such as is used. Such a binder resin is preferably used in a proportion of about 0 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder resin of the present invention.

In the present invention, conventionally known ink solvents can be used as the organic solvent for dissolving or dispersing the above-mentioned dye and binder resin. Specifically, ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, cyclohexanone and the like can be used. Aromatics such as toluene and xylene; halogens such as dichloromethane and trichloroethane; esters such as ethyl acetate and propyl butyrate; alcohols such as ethanol and butanol; dioxane; tetrahydrofuran and the like, and mixtures thereof. These solvents are preferably those capable of sufficiently dissolving or dispersing a compound such as a dye used in the dye-donating layer to form a stable composition. It is preferred to use about 5 to 50 times the total weight of dye and binder resin. The monohydric alcohol is used in an amount of 5% by weight or more and 100% by weight or less, preferably 20% by weight to 90% by weight, based on the total solvent.

As the support for the thermal transfer dye-providing material, any conventionally known one can be used. Examples thereof include polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polycarbonate, glassine paper, condenser paper, cellulose ester, fluoropolymer, polyether, polyacetal, polyolefin, polyimide, polyphenylene sulfide, polypropylene, polysulfone, and cellophane. The thickness of the support of the thermal transfer dye-donor element is generally 2 to
It is 200 μm. An undercoat layer may be provided if necessary. 2 to 10μ when recording with thermal hud
m is preferred.

The thermal transfer dye-providing material using a heat transferable dye basically has a dye-providing layer containing a dye and a binder which are movable by heat on a support. This thermal transfer dye-providing material is prepared by dissolving or dispersing a conventionally known dye that becomes sublimable or becomes mobile and a binder resin in an organic solvent to prepare a coating solution. On one side of the support for use, for example, about 0.1 to 20 μm, preferably 0.2 to 5
It can be obtained by coating and drying at a coating amount to give a dry film thickness of μm to form a dye-donor layer. The dye-donor layer may be formed of one layer, but may be formed of two or more layers for use in a method in which the dye-donating layer is repeatedly used many times. In this case, the dye content and dye / binder ratio in each layer may be different. Dye application amount is 0.0
It is 3 to 20 g / m ² , preferably 0.1 to 5 g / m ² .

As the dye useful for forming such a dye-donor layer, any of the dyes conventionally used in thermal transfer dye-donor materials can be used, but a particularly preferred dye in the present invention is about 150 to 800. Has a small molecular weight, and is selected in consideration of transfer temperature, hue, light resistance, solubility in ink and binder resin, dispersibility and the like. Specific examples include disperse dyes, basic dyes, oil-soluble dyes, and the like. Further, it is preferable to use a yellow dye represented by the following general formula (Y).

[0016]

[Chemical 1]

(Wherein D ¹ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a cyano group or a carbamoyl group, and D ² represents a hydrogen atom,
It represents an alkyl group or an aryl group, D ³ represents an aryl group or a heteryl group, and D ⁴ and D ⁵ represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group. The above groups may be further substituted. ) Specific examples of compounds are shown below.

[0018]

[Chemical 2]

[0019]

[Chemical 3]

[0020]

[Chemical 4]

As the magenta dye, a dye represented by the following general formula (M) is preferable.

[0022]

[Chemical 5]

(Wherein D ^{6 to} D ¹⁰ are hydrogen atom, halogen atom, alkyl group, alkoxy group, aryl group, aryloxy group, cyano group, acylamino group, sulfonylamino group, ureido group, alkoxycarbonylamino group,
It represents an alkylthio group, an arylthio group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a carbamoyl group, a sulfamoyl group, a sulfonyl group, an acyl group or an amino group, and D ¹¹ and D ¹² represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an aryl group. D ¹¹ and D ¹² may combine with each other to form a ring, or D ⁸ and D ¹¹ or / and D ⁹ and D ¹² may combine with each other to form a ring. X, Y and Z represent = C (D ¹³ )-or a nitrogen atom (D ¹³ is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group,
Represents an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group and an amino group). When X and Y are ═C (D ¹³ ) − or when Y and Z are ═C (D ¹³ ) −, two D ^13's may be bonded to each other to form a saturated or unsaturated carbocycle. . The above groups may be further substituted. ) Specific examples of compounds are shown below.

[0024]

[Chemical 6]

[0025]

[Chemical 7]

[0026]

[Chemical 8]

[0027]

[Chemical 9]

As the cyan dye, the following general formula (C) is used.
The dye represented by is preferable.

[0029]

[Chemical 10]

(In the formula, D ^{14 to} D ²¹ are synonymous with D ^{6 to} D ¹⁰ and D ²² and D ²³ are synonymous with D ¹¹ and D ^12. ) Specific examples of compounds are shown below.

[0031]

[Chemical 11]

[0032]

[Chemical 12]

[0033]

[Chemical 13]

In the dyes represented by the above general formulas (Y), (M) and (C), it is preferable to introduce the anti-fading group described in JP-A-3-205189 because the light fastness is improved. Further, a dye in which an active substituent is introduced into the dye and a compound capable of reacting with the dye is contained in the receptor layer may be used. For example, a basic compound can be used in the receptor layer by introducing a dissociative group into the dye. Further, a basic group is added to the dye and an acidic compound is contained in the receiving layer. The dye contains a dienophile group or a diene group, and the receiving layer contains a diene compound or a dienophile compound. Alternatively, there is an example in which a coordinating group is introduced into the dye and a chelatable metal compound is contained in the receptor layer.

In the present invention, a releasing agent may be contained in the dye-providing layer in order to improve the releasing property between the thermal transfer dye-donating material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material. As the release agent, solid or wax-like substances such as polyethylene wax, amide wax, fine powder of silicone resin, fine powder of fluorine resin; surfactants such as fluorine and phosphate ester; paraffin and silicone Any conventionally known release agent such as system oil and fluorine oil can be used, but silicone oil is particularly preferable.

As the silicone oil, in addition to non-modified silicone oil, modified silicone oil such as carboxy-modified, amino-modified, epoxy-modified, polyether-modified and alkyl-modified can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds. Examples thereof include various modified silicone oils described on pages 6 to 18B of "Modified Silicone Oil" technical data issued by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd. When used in an organic solvent-based binder, an amino-modified silicone oil having a group capable of reacting with a crosslinking agent of the binder (for example, a group capable of reacting with an isocyanate) is effective, and is also emulsified and dispersed in a water-soluble binder. When used as a carboxy-modified silicone oil (for example, Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd .: trade name X-22-3710) or an epoxy-modified silicone oil (for example, Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd .: trade name KF-100T) is effective. .

Examples of the silicone compound used in the present invention include unmodified or modified silicone oil, solid silicone polymers soluble in organic solvents such as toluene, and fine silicone particles insoluble in the solvent used. The silicone compounds used in the present invention may be used in combination of two or more kinds. In particular, it is preferable to use unmodified or modified silicone oil in combination with silicone-based solid fine particles. The amount of the unmodified or modified silicone oil used in the present invention and the silicone compound soluble in the solvent is 0.001 to 20%, preferably 0.01 to 20% of the total weight of the binder in the layer to which the silicone compound is added. 10
%, Particularly preferably 0.1% to 1%. The coating amount of the silicone-based fine particles used in the present invention is usually 0.0
01~3g / m ^2, and preferably is 0.005~1g / m ^2, particularly preferably 0.01 to 0.5 g / m ^2.

A slipping layer may be provided to prevent the thermal head from sticking to the dye-donor element. The slipping layer is composed of a lubricating material, with or without a polymeric binder, such as a surfactant, a solid or liquid lubricant or mixtures thereof. In order to prevent sticking due to heat of the thermal head and to improve slippage when printing from the back side of the dye-donor material, it is preferable to perform anti-sticking treatment on the side of the support on which the dye-donor layer is not provided. For example, a reaction product of polyvinyl butyral resin and isocyanate,
It is preferable to provide a heat-resistant slip layer mainly composed of an alkali metal salt or alkaline earth metal salt of phosphoric acid ester and a filler. The polyvinyl butyral resin has a molecular weight of about 60,000 to 200,000 and a glass transition point of 80 to 110.
C. and from the viewpoint of many reaction sites with isocyanate, the weight% of vinyl butyral portion is 15 to 40.
% Is good. As the alkali metal salt or alkaline earth metal salt of phosphoric acid ester, Gafac RD720 manufactured by Toho Kagaku Co., Ltd. is used, which is 1 to 50% by weight, preferably 10 to 40% by weight based on the polyvinyl butyral resin.
Good to use. The heat-resistant slip layer is preferably accompanied by heat resistance in the lower layer, a combination of a synthetic resin that can be cured by heating and its curing agent, such as polyvinyl butyral and polyvalent isocyanate, acrylic polyol and polyvalent isocyanate, cellulose acetate and titanium chelating agent, Alternatively, a combination of polyester and an organic titanium compound may be provided by coating.

The dye-donor element may be provided with a hydrophilic barrier layer for preventing the diffusion of the dye toward the support. The hydrophilic dye barrier layer contains hydrophilic materials useful for the intended purpose. Generally good results are gelatin, poly (acrylamide), poly (isopropylacrylamide), butyl methacrylate grafted gelatin,
Ethyl methacrylate graft gelatin, cellulose monoacetate, methyl cellulose, poly (vinyl alcohol),
Poly (ethyleneimine), poly (acrylic acid), a mixture of poly (vinyl alcohol) and poly (vinyl acetate), a mixture of poly (vinyl alcohol) and poly (acrylic acid) or cellulose monoacetate and poly (acrylic acid) ). Especially preferred are poly (acrylic acid), cellulose monoacetate or poly (vinyl alcohol).

The dye-donor layer is formed by selecting a dye so that a desired hue can be transferred when printed, and by arranging two or more dye-donor layers having different hues side by side with one thermal transfer dye-donor material, if necessary. May be. For example, when an image such as a color photograph is formed by repeatedly printing each color according to the color separation signal, it is desirable that the hue when printed is cyan, magenta, and yellow, and such a hue is given. Line up the three dye-donor layers containing the dye. Alternatively, in addition to cyan, magenta, and yellow, a dye-donor layer containing a dye that imparts a black hue may be added. In addition, it is preferable to provide a mark for position detection at the same time when any one of the dye-donor layers is formed during the formation of these dye-donor layers, because an ink or printing step different from the dye-donor layer formation is not required.

In the present invention, the support used for the thermal transfer image-receiving material can withstand the transfer temperature and satisfies the requirements in terms of smoothness, whiteness, slipperiness, frictional property, antistatic property and dent after transfer. Anything that can be used can be used. For example, synthetic paper (synthetic paper such as polyolefin and polystyrene), fine paper, art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, wallpaper, backing paper, synthetic resin or emulsion impregnated paper, synthetic rubber latex impregnated paper, synthetic resin Paper support such as paper, paperboard, cellulose fiber paper, polyolefin coated paper (especially paper coated on both sides with polyethylene), various plastic films or sheets such as polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene methacrylate, polycarbonate, etc. Films or sheets treated to impart white reflectivity to the plastic, and laminates of any combination of the above may also be used. Further, as the support of the image receiving material for transmission observation, one having good transparency is used,
Specifically, resin films such as polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyimide are preferable.

The thermal transfer image receiving material is provided with a dye receiving layer. This receiving layer receives the heat transferable dye transferred from the heat transfer dye-providing material at the time of printing, and the substance capable of receiving the heat transferable dye having the function of dyeing the heat transferable dye is used alone. Or with other binder substances, it is preferable that the thickness is about 0.5 to 50 μm. The following resins are examples of polymers that are typical examples of substances that can receive heat transferable dyes. Those having ester bond such as polyester, polycarbonate, polymethacrylate, polyvinyl acetate; those having urethane bond such as polyurethane; those having amide bond such as polyamide; those having urea bond such as polyurea; sulfone bond such as polysulfone Others such as polycaprolactone, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and the like. In addition to the above synthetic resins, mixtures or copolymers of these can also be used.

In the thermal transfer image-receiving material, particularly in the receiving layer, a high-boiling organic solvent or a thermal solvent can be contained as a substance capable of receiving the heat transferable dye or as a diffusion aid of the dye. Specific examples of the high boiling point organic solvent and the heat solvent include JP-A Nos. 62-174754 and 62-24525.
No. 3, No. 61-209444, No. 61-200538
No. 6, No. 62-8145, No. 62-9348, No. 62
The compounds described in Nos. -30247 and 62-136646 can be mentioned.

In the present invention, the receiving layer of the thermal transfer image receiving material may have a structure in which a substance capable of receiving the heat transferable dye is dispersed and carried in a water-soluble binder. As the water-soluble binder used in this case, various known water-soluble polymers can be used, but water-soluble polymers having a group capable of undergoing a crosslinking reaction by a hardening agent are preferable, and gelatins are particularly preferable. The receiving layer may be composed of two or more layers. In that case, a synthetic resin having a low glass transition point is used for the layer closer to the support, or a dye having a high boiling point organic solvent or thermal solvent is used to enhance the dyeing property, and the outermost layer has a glass transition point. Use a synthetic resin with a higher point, reduce the amount of high-boiling organic solvent or thermal solvent to the required minimum amount or do not use it, and make the surface sticky, adhere to other substances, re-transfer to other substances after transfer. It is desirable to have a structure that prevents failures such as transfer and blocking with a thermal transfer dye-donating material. The total thickness of the receiving layer is 0.5 to 50 μm, especially 3 to
The range of 30 μm is preferable. In the case of a two-layer structure, the outermost layer preferably has a thickness of 0.1 to 2 μm, particularly 0.2 to 1 μm.

In the present invention, the thermal transfer image-receiving material may have an intermediate layer between the support and the receiving layer. The intermediate layer is any one of a cushion layer, a porous layer, and a dye diffusion preventing layer or a layer having two or more functions depending on the constituent material, and also serves as an adhesive in some cases. The dye diffusion-preventing layer serves to prevent the heat transferable dye from diffusing into the support. The binder constituting the diffusion preventing layer may be water-soluble or organic solvent-soluble, but a water-soluble binder is preferable, and examples thereof include the water-soluble binders mentioned above as the binder for the image-receiving layer, particularly gelatin. The porous layer is
This layer serves to prevent the heat applied during thermal transfer from diffusing from the image receiving layer to the support and to effectively utilize the applied heat.

In the present invention, silica, clay, talc, diatomaceous earth, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate, etc. are used for the receiving layer, cushion layer, porous layer, diffusion preventing layer, adhesive layer and the like which constitute the thermal transfer image receiving material. Fine powders of aluminum silicate, synthetic zeolite, zinc oxide, lithopone, titanium oxide, alumina and the like may be contained.

A fluorescent whitening agent may be used in the thermal transfer image receiving material. As an example, K. Veenkatarama
n edition "The Chemistry of Synth
"tic Dyes", Volume V, Chapter 8, JP-A-61-1
The compound described in No. 43752 can be mentioned. More specifically, stilbene compounds, coumarin compounds, biphenyl compounds, benzoxazolyl compounds, naphthalimide compounds, pyrazoline compounds, carbostyryl compounds, 2,5-dibenzoxazolethiophene compounds, etc. Can be mentioned. The fluorescent whitening agent can be used in combination with an anti-fading agent.

The layers constituting the thermal transfer dye-donating material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material used in the present invention may be cured with a hardener. In the case of curing an organic solvent-based polymer, JP-A Nos. 61-199997 and 58-21539.
The hardeners described in No. 8 and the like can be used. It is particularly preferable to use an isocyanate type hardener for the polyester resin. For curing water-soluble polymers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,739, column 41, JP-A-59-1166.
55, 62-245261 and 61-18942.
The hardeners described in the publications are suitable for use. More specifically, aldehyde hardeners (formaldehyde etc.), aziridine hardeners, epoxy hardeners, vinyl sulfone hardeners (N, N'-ethylene-bis (vinylsulfonylacetamide)) Ethane, etc.), N-methylol type hardener (dimethylolurea, etc.), or polymer hardener (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 6-62).
2-234157 etc. are mentioned.

An anti-fading agent may be used in the thermal transfer dye-providing material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material. As the anti-fading agent, there are, for example, an antioxidant, an ultraviolet absorber, or a kind of metal complex. Examples of the antioxidant include chroman compounds, coumarane compounds, phenol compounds (eg, hindered phenols), hydroquinone derivatives, hindered amine derivatives, and spiroindane compounds.
The compounds described in JP-A-61-159644 are also effective.

As the ultraviolet absorber, benzotriazole compounds (US Pat. No. 3,533,794, etc.),
4-thiazolidone compounds (US Pat. No. 3,352,68
No. 1), benzophenone compounds (JP-A-56-2)
No. 784, etc.), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-48535,
There are compounds described in JP-A-62-136641, JP-A-61-188256 and the like. Further, the ultraviolet absorbing polymer described in JP-A-62-260152 is also effective. Examples of the metal complex include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,241,155 and 4,2.
45,018, columns 3 to 36, ibid., 4,254,195.
Nos. 3-8, JP-A-62-174741, 61-
88256, pages (27) to (29), JP-A-1-755.
68, compounds described in JP-A No. 63-199248 and the like.

Examples of useful anti-fading agents are disclosed in JP-A-62-21.
5272 (125)-(137). An anti-fading agent for preventing discoloration of the dye transferred to the image-receiving material may be contained in the image-receiving material in advance, or may be supplied to the image-receiving material from the outside by a method such as transferring from the dye-providing material. May be. The above-mentioned antioxidant, ultraviolet absorber, and metal complex may be used in combination.

Various surfactants can be used in the constituent layers of the thermal transfer image-receiving material for the purpose of coating aid, improvement of releasability, improvement of slipperiness, prevention of electrostatic charge, acceleration of development and the like. Nonionic surfactants, anionic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants and cationic surfactants can be used. Specific examples of these are disclosed in JP-A-62-173463 and JP-A-62-1.
No. 83457 and the like.

When a substance capable of accepting a heat transferable dye, a release agent, an anti-fading agent, an ultraviolet absorber, a fluorescent brightening agent, and other hydrophobic compounds are dispersed in a water-soluble binder, they are dispersed. It is preferable to use a surfactant as an auxiliary agent.
For this purpose, in addition to the above-mentioned surfactants, the surfactants described on pages 37 to 38 of JP-A-59-157636 are particularly preferably used.

A matting agent can be used in the thermal transfer dye-providing material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material. As the matting agent, in addition to the compounds described in JP-A No. 61-88256, page 29, such as silicon dioxide, polyolefin or polymethacrylate, benzoguanamine resin beads, polycarbonate resin beads, AS resin beads and the like are disclosed in JP-A-63-27.
There are compounds described in 4944 and 63-274952.

In the present invention, the dye-donor element is superposed on the image-receiving element, and heat energy corresponding to image information is applied from either side, preferably from the back side of the thermal transfer dye-donor element, by heating means such as a thermal head. By giving the dye, the dye in the dye-donor layer can be transferred to the thermal transfer image-receiving material according to the amount of heating energy, and a color image having excellent sharpness and resolution gradation can be obtained. The heating means is not limited to the thermal head, and known ones such as laser light (for example, semiconductor laser), infrared flash, and hot pen can be used. In laser-based systems, the thermal transfer dye-donor material preferably contains a material that strongly absorbs laser light. When a thermal transfer dye-donor material is irradiated with laser light, the absorbing material converts light energy into heat energy, transfers the heat to the dye in the immediate vicinity, and the dye is transferred to the heat transfer image-receiving material at a temperature (heat transfer temperature). ) Is heated up to. The absorbent material is layered below the dye and / or is mixed with the dye. The laser beam is modulated with an electrical signal that represents the shape and color of the original image, heating only the areas of the dye that need to be present on the thermal transfer dye-donor material to reconstitute the original target color and heat transfer.

In the present invention, the thermal transfer dye-providing material is combined with a thermal transfer image-receiving material to form an image by printing using various printers of thermal printing system, facsimile, or magnetic recording system, magneto-optical recording system, optical recording system and the like. It can be used to create prints, prints from a television or CRT screen. For details of the thermal transfer recording method, the description in JP-A-60-34895 can be referred to.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thermal transfer dye-donor element comprises a polyethylene terephthalate support coated in successive repeating regions of a cyan dye, a magenta dye and a yellow dye, wherein the thermal transfer step is performed sequentially for each dye. Perform to form a three color transfer image. Of course,
When this thermal transfer process is performed in a single color, a monochrome transfer image is obtained. Thermal transfer To transfer a dye from a dye-donor material to a thermal transfer image-receiving material, current is supplied to the thermal head in response to an electric signal, or an ion gas laser such as argon or krypton, a metal vapor laser such as copper, gold and cadmium, or a ruby. Heating with several lasers can be used, such as solid state lasers like YAG or YAG or semiconductor lasers like gallium-arsenide emitting in the infrared range from 750 to 870 nm. However, in practice, semiconductor lasers are advantageous in terms of small size, low cost, stability, reliability, durability, and ease of modulation.

[0058]

EXAMPLES The following are detailed examples of the present invention. However,
The thermal transfer recording material of the present invention is not limited to the examples shown below. Example 1 (Preparation of Thermal Transfer Dye Donor 1) A 5 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate film having a heat resistant slipping layer provided on one side was used as a support, and the support was provided on the side opposite to the side provided with the heat resistant slipping layer. The dye-donor layer coating composition having the following composition and the coating composition were dried by a gravure coater to give a thickness of 0.6.
A thermal transfer dye-donor material 1 was obtained by coating so as to have a thickness of μm. Dye Donor Layer Coating Composition (1) Dye Y-1 10 g Binder resin (Chemit K1089: Toray polyester, Tg 43 ° C.) 10 g Silicone oil (KF-96: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 0.2 g Polyisocyanate ( Takenate D110N: Takeda Yakuhin) 0.5 g Methyl ethyl ketone 85 ml Toluene 85 ml

(Preparation of Thermal Transfer Image Receiving Material 1) A laminated type synthetic paper having a thickness of 150 μm was used as a support, and a receiving layer coating composition (1) having the following composition was dried on the surface by a wire bar coater to give a thickness of 5 μm. To obtain a thermal transfer image-receiving material 1. After temporary drying with a dryer,
It was carried out in an oven at a temperature of 80 ° C. for 1 hour.

Receptor layer coating composition (1) Polycarbonate resin 25 g Polyisocyanate (KP-90: manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) 4 g Silicone oil (KF-857: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 0.4 g Methyl ethyl ketone 100 ml 10 ml of toluene

Example 2 Dye-providing materials 2 to 9 were prepared by substituting the dyes and binder resins used in Dye-providing material 1 in Example 1 with those shown in Table A below.

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[Table 1]

Composition for receiving layer coating having the following composition, using as a support a resin-coated paper having a thickness of 25 μm and polyethylene hydrated on both sides of a high-quality paper of 150 μm in thickness.
Using (2), a thermal transfer image receiving material 2 was prepared in the same manner as the image receiving material 1 of Example 1. A thermal transfer image-receiving material 3 was prepared by replacing the vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer with a polyester resin (Vylon 200, manufactured by Toyobo).

Receptor Layer Coating Composition (2) PVC-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer 25 g Polyisocyanate (KP-90: Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) 4 g Silicone Oil (SH 3771: Toray Dow Corning) 0.4 g Methyl Ethyl Ketone 100 ml toluene 50 ml

Example 3 (Preparation of Thermal Transfer Image Receiving Material 4) An organic solvent solution of the dye-receptive polymer of the composition (B) was emulsified and dispersed in a gelatin aqueous solution of the composition (A) below by a homogenizer to obtain a dye-receptive substance. A gelatin dispersion of was prepared.

(A) Gelatin aqueous solution Gelatin 2.3 g Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (5% aqueous solution) 20 ml Water 80 ml (B) Dye receptive polymer solution Polyester resin (Vylon 300 manufactured by Toyobo) 7.0 g Carboxy modified Silicone oil (X-22-3710 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 0.4 g Methyl ethyl ketone 20 ml Toluene 10 ml Triphenyl phosphate 1.5 g

In the dispersion thus prepared, 0.5 g of the following fluorine-based surfactant (a) C ₃ F ₇ SO ₂ N (C ₃ H ₇ ) CH ₂ COOK was added to water / methanol (1: 1). ) Mixed solvent 10
The solution dissolved in ml was added to give a receiving layer coating composition. This coating composition was applied onto the resin-coated paper of Example 2 by a wire bar coating method to obtain a wet film thickness of 75 μm.
To obtain a thermal transfer image receiving material 4.

Comparative Example 1 Comparative Examples Dye-providing materials a to e were prepared by substituting the dyes and binder resins used in Dye-providing material 1 in Example 1 with those shown in Table B below.

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[Table 2]

The thermal transfer dye-donor material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material obtained as described above are superposed so that the dye-donor layer and the image-receiving layer are in contact with each other, and a thermal head is used from the support side of the thermal transfer dye-donor material to conduct thermal transfer. Heat was applied under the conditions of a head output of 0.15 W / dot, a pulse width of 2 to 15 msec, and a dot density of 8 dots / mm to dye the dye imagewise on the image-receiving layer of the thermal transfer image-receiving material.

The density of the recorded image of the obtained recorded thermal transfer image-receiving material at each transfer time was measured by a reflection density measuring device (X R
It was measured using a status A filter). The transfer time required to obtain the density (Dmax) of the saturated portion and the predetermined density (D = 1.0) was determined from the measurement results, and the results are shown in Table-C.

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[Table 3]

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By using the dye-donor element of the present invention, clear image recording with high transfer density can be rapidly obtained.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer dye-providing material comprising a support and a dye-donating layer containing a heat-transferable dye and a binder resin, wherein the binder resin has a glass transition temperature of 5 or less.
A thermal transfer dye-providing material, which is mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin having a softening point of 0 ° C or lower or 160 ° C or lower.