JPH07104620A - Regenerating method for image substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide such a regenerating method as forming an image holding substrate capable of maintaining good release performance over a long period of time at the time of regenerating paper for copying or printing of ordinary PPC copied images and PPC printing images currently utilized on the market. CONSTITUTION:This regenerating method for the image substrate comprises holding liquid contg. water on the image substrate which is composed of a chartaceous layer essentially consisting of cellulose fibers in a part and is formed with the images consisting of hot melt ink on the paper layer, then adhering under heating and/or adhering under pressurizing the images of the image substrate by interposing an image release body, thereby peeling the images from the image substrate. The liquid contg. water contains 0.01 to 5% antiseptic and mildewproof agents and further contains a surfactant and/or water-soluble polymer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for regenerating an image-bearing support having an image formed of a heat-meltable ink on a paper layer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to recent OA, printer paper and copying paper have come to be used in large quantities. As a result, it has led to the problem of deteriorating the global environment due to deforestation. Conventionally, to solve such a problem, there is no alternative but to remove the ink or the like on the used paper, crush it, re-use it, and recycle it to the so-called waste paper. However, recently, there has been proposed a paper or recycling method in which an image such as a character on a paper that has been used once is removed by a process of cleaning and can be reused for copying or printing. For example, as such a paper, as described in JP-A-4-67043, the surface of the sheet-like support, particularly one surface, is subjected to a release treatment, and the release-treated support is Marked and distinguished from plain paper. However, such copy paper has become a special paper with a release treatment on its surface, and nowadays,
It is difficult to apply because it cannot be used as general copying paper and printing paper used in large quantities. Therefore, it is difficult to copy by mixing with a general copying paper. Furthermore, from the perspective of resource reuse, double-sided copying,
In other words, it is important to make double-sided and single-sided copies of one copy sheet, and it is considered that it will become the mainstream in the future. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to use recycled paper coated with a release agent on one side. The method of regenerating an image-forming support described in JP-A-1-101576 and JP-A-1-10577 is carried out by immersing the image-formed support in an organic solvent that dissolves the image-forming toner resin on the image-forming support. Then, the image is removed from the image-formed support by ultrasonic treatment. However, these methods have problems such as pollution, ignitability and toxicity due to the use of an organic solvent, and have problems in general use in offices and homes.
On the other hand, in JP-A-1-297294, an image forming support made of plastic, metal, paper having poor liquid permeability, ceramics or the like is used, and an image formed on the support is heated. A cleaning method is described in which the image is peeled off from the support by heating with a meltable peeling body interposed, but a special paper (erasable paper) having a release treatment on its surface must be used. At present, there is a problem that it cannot be applied to general copying paper, printing paper, etc. which are used in large quantities. Furthermore, as recently proposed by the inventor of the present invention as Japanese Patent Application No. 05-202557, after applying a liquid containing at least water (peeling liquid) to a support holding the image, the image is melted. There has been proposed a method of regenerating an image holding support in which an image is peeled from the support by passing it through a heating roller for applying. This method is an effective method for regenerating the image-bearing support because it peels the image very reliably, but the water quality may change in the long-term use of the liquid containing at least water used in the method. In the case where such a deteriorated liquid was applied to the paper layer and the image was peeled off, the following problems were observed. For one thing, the peeling result was not good, and the existence of unpeeled parts was present on the image holding support. It is considered that this is because one of the factors is that foreign matter such as suspended matter was found in the denatured liquid, and these foreign matter adhered to the peeling means such as the heating roller, thus deteriorating the peeling performance.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem to be solved by the present invention is to copy an ordinary PPC copy image or PPC printing image currently used in the market, or to reproduce a printing paper, and to copy or print. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of reusing an image-bearing support that enables reuse, and in particular, to provide a method of reusing an image-bearing support that can maintain good peeling performance for a long period of time.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an image holding device is provided in which after a liquid containing at least water is applied to a support for holding an image, it is passed through a heating roller or the like for fusing the image to separate the image from the support. In the method for regenerating the support, the present invention has been made paying attention to the fact that the liquid containing at least water for a long period of time causes molds in the liquid or spoilage due to microorganisms such as mold fungi. It is a thing. The present invention holds at least a liquid containing at least water on an image support which is composed of a paper-like layer containing cellulose fibers as a main component and which has an image formed of a heat-meltable ink on the paper layer. Then, the image of the image support is heat-bonded and / or pressure-bonded by interposing an image peeling member to separate the image from the image support, and in the method of regenerating the image support, at least the water is added. A method of regenerating an image support, characterized in that an antiseptic / antifungal agent is contained in a liquid containing the same. Further, in the above-mentioned method for reproducing an image support, the content of the antiseptic / antifungal agent is 0.01% or more and 5% or less, which is a method for reproducing the image support. Further, there is provided a method of regenerating an image support, which further comprises a surfactant and / or a water-soluble polymer in a liquid containing at least water.

As the support for holding the image of the present invention,
Mainly used for copying or printing paper,
The material is not limited to these, and any material can be used as long as it holds an image on the support. Further, the structure of the support does not have to be entirely composed of a paper layer, and the layer on which the hydrophobic image of the heat-meltable ink (toner) is held may be a paper-based layer containing cellulose fibers as a main component, For example, it may be a laminate of a paper layer and a plastic layer.

One of the features of the present invention is to remove only the image from the paper layer in a state where the image holding support is moistened with a liquid containing water (peeling liquid), and the image support is directly recycled and reused. Especially. Generally, when paper is moistened with water, so-called stiffness becomes weak. At this time, the adhesiveness between the hydrophobic heat-meltable ink (toner) retained in the paper quality layer and the paper quality layer becomes very weak. ing. That is, in the paper quality layer containing cellulose fibers as a main component, the fibers are entangled with each other, and the surface of the paper quality layer has an infinite number of irregularities, and furthermore, the inside of the paper quality has innumerable minute voids. When the hydrophobic image is held on the paper material in such a state, the heat-meltable ink (toner) image fixed in the PPC copying process is larger than the unevenness and the minute voids due to the entanglement of the cellulose fiber, and thus the cellulose A large number of spaces are present at the contact area between the fiber and the image.

When an image holding support carrying such a hydrophobic image is impregnated with the liquid containing at least water (peeling liquid) by coating, dipping, spraying or the like, the liquid becomes cellulose fibers and voids thereof. The space penetrates by a capillarity phenomenon, and the peeling liquid penetrates even to the contact portion between the heat-meltable ink (toner) image and the cellulose fiber. As a result, the action of reducing the adhesive force between the heat-fusible ink (toner) image and the cellulose fiber, and when the cellulose fiber absorbs the release liquid, the cellulose fiber is deformed by a so-called swelling phenomenon and the heat-meltable ink (toner) image. Since the space of the contact area with the cellulose fiber and the heat-meltable ink (toner) image decreases, the contact area between the cellulose fiber and the heat-meltable ink (toner) image decreases, and the adhesive force decreases. The adhesiveness of is very weak. Therefore, the image can easily damage the paper layer by adopting an appropriate peeling means in a state where the paper layer containing the cellulose fiber of the image support on which the image is formed is impregnated with the liquid containing water. It can be removed without. The antiseptic / antifungal agent added to the liquid containing at least water in the present invention is added to the liquid at a rate of 0.01% to 5%, preferably 0.0
It is 5% to 0.5%. If it is less than 0.01%, the intended effect of the present invention will not be exhibited, and if it exceeds 0.5%, a component insoluble in a liquid containing water tends to precipitate, which is not preferable.

The antiseptic / antifungal agent to be used is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include "Antibacterial and Antifungal" Vol. 8 No. 3 to Vol. 9 N
o. The antiseptic and antifungal agents listed in the antibacterial and antifungal agent list, which is a separate print of No. 6, can be used. As an example, 2-pyridinethiol-1-oxide sodium (aurin.
Chemical company Sodium OMADINE), paraoxybenzoic acid ester (Ueno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Neoplatin 2), siabendazole (Shinto Mfg., Shinto Paint Co., Ltd.), 2,4- (thiazonyl) benzimidazole (San Aisol 100, Merck USA). ), 1,2 benzisothiazolin-3-one (Proxel AB manufactured by ICI Japan), Sodium-O-phenylphenate tetrahydrate (Dowc manufactured by Dow Chemical)
ide-A), hexahydro-1,3,5-tris- (2-hydroxyethyl) -S-triazine (Sanpak P manufactured by Sanai Sekiyu KK), 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one and sodium-2-pyridinethiol. Mixture with 1-oxide (Sunpack P-10 manufactured by San-ai Oil Co., Ltd.)
0) etc. are mentioned as a suitable thing. When the above-mentioned liquid containing at least water (peeling solution) is impregnated into the image-holding support carrying a hydrophobic image by coating, dipping, spraying, etc., the image-holding support is sufficiently covered at the boundary between the image and the paper layer. The rapid permeation of water can ensure peeling of the heat-meltable ink (toner) image in a short time. It is preferable to apply water containing a surfactant as a substance that accelerates the permeation of water into the image holding support.

Examples of the surfactant include anionic surfactants such as fatty acid derivatives, sulfuric acid esters, sulfonic acid type and phosphoric acid ester types, quaternary ammonium salts, quaternary ammonium salts having an ester bond amine and an ether bond, and a hetero complex. Examples thereof include cationic surfactants such as cyclic amines and amine derivatives, amphoteric surfactants, and nonionic surfactants. The concentration of the surfactant contained in water is preferably 0.01% to 20%, more preferably 0.01 to 5%.
%.

In the present invention, a heat-meltable ink (toner) peeling body can be formed by holding a water-soluble polymer in a state where the image support contains water. Further, in the support of the cellulose fiber, the water-soluble polymer is a cellulose fiber / the heat-meltable ink (toner) for the heat-meltable ink (toner) image inside the cellulose fiber which cannot come into contact with the releaser by the peeling means described later. toner)
The image / water-soluble polymer / peeling member can be brought into contact with each other, and the adhesive force allows the heat-meltable ink (toner) image to be peeled off without damaging the paper quality. Such a water-soluble polymer may be a natural polymer or a synthetic polymer, and representative examples thereof include the following. Examples of natural polymers include corn starch, furi, gum arabic, gelatin, and casein, and examples of synthetic polymers include hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, dialdehyde starch, and polyvinyl alcohol. Examples include isobutylene-maleic anhydride. These water-soluble polymers to be contained in the water of the present invention are contained in a liquid containing water in an amount of 0.1 to 20.
%, And more preferably 0.5 to 10%. If the concentration of the water-soluble polymer is too high, the liquid viscosity will increase,
Penetration into paper is delayed, which is not preferable. In the present invention, after applying a liquid containing at least water to the image holding support, a means for peeling off the image is applied to the image holding support. As the peeling means, for example, a thermocompression-bonding rubber roller or an adhesive layer is used. Such as pressure-sensitive adhesive tape can be mentioned, and by applying these means, the image can be removed from the paper layer with almost no removal of paper fibers. Examples of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape include cellophane tape, kraft paper adhesive tape, polyvinyl chloride tape, acetate tape, filament reinforcing tape, etc., depending on the type of base film. Further, an image holding support is provided with an intervening release member composed of a resin of an adhesive component, which is a toner resin component of the hot-melt ink, for example, a resin such as polystyrene, acrylic resin, or styrene-butyryl copolymer. It is also possible to peel off the image.

[0011]

The present invention suppresses the generation of mold and other foreign matter in a liquid by containing an antiseptic and antifungal agent in a liquid containing at least water, which is used for peeling an image from an image holding support. However, it is possible to eliminate the adhesion of foreign matter to the surface of the peeling body and ensure the initial performance of the peeling body for a long period of time, and as a result, the method for regenerating the image-bearing support of the present invention can be used for a long time while maintaining the initial performance. Can be implemented for a period of time. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples. In the following description,% in the text is based on weight unless otherwise specified.

[0012]

【Example】

Example 1 Pure water 99.0%, nonionic surfactant (BT-7 manufactured by Nikko Chemicals, Inc.) 0.5%, antiseptic and fungicide 2-pyridinethiol-1-oxide sodium (Aurin.
Koho's Sodium OMADINE) 0.5%
A PPC copier (PPC IMAGO 320 FPI manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) using a copy paper as the peeling liquid consisting of
The image holding support on which the image was formed was dipped. Next, the heated rubber roller was pressed against the image surface of the image holding support, and the image holding support was passed over the rubber roller. As a result, all the images formed on the image support were moved from the paper surface of the image support to the rubber roller. Transferred on top and reproduced in white. When the stripping solution was allowed to stand for 1 month and then subjected to the same test, exactly the same good result was obtained.

Comparative Example 1 A stripping solution (0.5% BT-7 aqueous solution) obtained by removing the antiseptic and fungicide from the stripping solution composition of Example 1 was tested in the same manner as in Example 1, and the initial quality was found to be good. Similar results to Example 1 were obtained. However, with the stripping solution left for one month, part of the image formed on the image support remained, and the toner stripping was insufficient. In addition, it was confirmed that a water-insoluble floating material was observed in the peeling liquid and that the floating material remained on the heating rubber roller as the toner peeling material.

Example 2 Pure water 99.0%, water-soluble starch 2.45%, paraoxybenzoic acid ester as a preservative and fungicide (manufactured by Ueno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
After the stripping solution composed of a formulation of 0.05% (neoplatin) was stored in a hermetically sealed container for 3 months, the same test as in Example 1 was performed, and the same good result as in Example 1 was obtained.

Comparative Example 2 A stripping solution (2.45% starch aqueous solution) obtained by removing the antiseptic and antifungal agent from the stripping solution composition of Example 2 was tested in the same manner as in Example 1 and formed on an image support. A part of the existing image remained, and the toner peeling was insufficient. In addition, it was confirmed that a water-insoluble floating material was observed in the peeling liquid and that the floating material remained on the heating rubber roller as the toner peeling material.

Example 3 The same test results as in Example 1 were obtained when tested in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the nonionic surfactant was removed from the stripping solution composition of Example 1.

[0017]

According to the present invention, a simple method for reproducing an image support from which an image is sufficiently removed without damaging a paper layer from an image holding support for holding copied and printed images. Can be carried out over a long period of time.

Front page continued (72) Inventor Tadashi Saito 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Keiji Murakami 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. Within

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A liquid containing at least water is applied to an image support, at least a part of which is composed of a paper-like layer containing cellulose fibers as a main component, and an image formed of a heat-meltable ink is formed on the paper layer. After holding, the image of the image support is heat-bonded and / or pressure-bonded by interposing an image peeler to separate the image from the image support, and the image support is regenerated. A method for regenerating an image support, characterized in that an antiseptic / antifungal agent is contained in a liquid containing. 2. The content of antiseptic / antifungal agent is 0.01% or more,
The method for reproducing an image support according to claim 1, wherein the content is 5% or less. 3. The method for regenerating an image support according to claim 1, wherein the liquid containing at least water further contains a surfactant and / or a water-soluble polymer.