JPH07125268A - Ink sheet and recorder using the sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recorder in which an image recording of high resolution and high quality level is obtained irrespective of a type of an image receiving sheet, a structure is relatively simple and which has a high recording speed and an ink sheet used for the recorder. CONSTITUTION:An ink sheet 1 comprises at least a support 2, an ink layer 3 made of colorant, binding agent, etc., on the support 2, and a photoresist layer 4 which is selectively removed by exposure and development and provided on the layer 3. A recorder using the sheet 1 comprises exposure means for emitting to irradiate the layer 4 with a laser light, etc., developing means for developing by selectively removing the layer 4 in which a chemical structure is varied by the exposure means, and heat transfer means for heating the sheet l in a state in which the sheet 1 is brought into contact with an image receiving sheet 5 to transfer ink of the layer 3 to the sheet 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention provides an output image that can meet a wide range of needs, from a recording apparatus that requires high quality images used for print proofing to a printer that requires printing on plain paper. The present invention relates to an ink sheet for obtaining an image receiving paper and a recording apparatus using the ink sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus forms an image by transferring an ink sheet having an ink layer on a support to the ink of an ink layer on an image receiving paper by heat generation of a heating resistor of a thermal head. Yes, it is widely used as a thermal transfer printer. The ink layer has a melting type and a sublimation type, both of which are characterized by excellent maintainability.

Laser light is irradiated onto the ink sheet instead of the thermal head, and the Joule heat melts the ink,
A method of transferring to image-receiving paper was also announced, and it is characterized by high resolution. There is also known one in which a photosensitizer containing a colorant is exposed as an ink sheet, developed, and transferred to an image receiving paper, which is used for proofreading in printing, and high-resolution image formation is achieved by mask exposure. There is.

[0004]

However, in the recording apparatus using the thermal head, the recording speed is relatively slow, and since the thermal head is used, it is difficult to obtain a high-resolution image. Printing on paper is difficult, and the sublimation type capable of high image quality has a drawback that a special image receiving paper is required. Further, this recording apparatus has thermal history characteristics and heat storage characteristics because the transfer status to the image receiving paper changes depending on the heating state of the thermal head resistor, and these must be corrected. The transfer state changes remarkably even with the contact state between the image receiving paper and the image receiving paper, and extremely high accuracy is required in designing and manufacturing the recording apparatus.

The method of directly melting the ink on the ink sheet with a laser beam uses light energy as heat energy and therefore has a very low recording speed, cannot be applied to general printers, and has a high resolution. It was difficult to transfer to paper with low surface smoothness such as plain paper.

A common problem of recording apparatuses using these conventional ink sheets is that various characteristics are limited because only the ink portion to be transferred has to be transferred by heating. The method using a photosensitizer containing a colorant also requires a large amount of energy and has a slow recording speed. Further, the developing process must remove the entire photosensitizer, which makes it difficult to process the developer. However, it is not suitable for a recording device such as a general printer. In addition, since colorants, photosensitizers, and binder agents for transfer adhesion are the main components, the degree of freedom as a material is poor and the adhesiveness due to the image quality and the smoothness of the image receiving paper and the overlay printing characteristics in the case of color etc. , It was difficult to satisfy all the characteristics.

An object of the present invention is to achieve high-definition and high-quality image recording at high speed, which could not be achieved by the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink sheet capable of recording an image on any recording sheet and a recording apparatus using the ink sheet.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, the ink sheet comprises at least a support,
It is composed of a melt-type or sublimation-type ink layer formed on the support and containing a colorant and a binder agent, and a photoresist layer formed on the ink layer. The photoresist layer is formed by exposure and development. The material that contributes to the exposure and development and the material that contributes to the transfer are separately superposed so as to be selectively removed. Further, the structure of a recording apparatus using the ink sheet selectively removes the exposure means for forming an image on the photoresist layer of the ink sheet and the photoresist layer whose chemical structure is changed by the exposure means. A developing means, and a heating transfer means for heating the selectively removed ink sheet in a state of contacting with the image receiving paper, and transferring the ink of the ink layer to the image receiving paper,
The exposing means, the developing means, and the heat transfer means were independently provided.

[0009]

With the above structure, when the photoresist layer is irradiated with laser light, ultraviolet rays, X-rays or the like by the exposing means, the photoresist layer changes in chemical structure such as curing due to polymerization. Next, by selectively removing the photoresist layer by a known developing means known in water development, alkali development, dry development, etc., and heating the same in contact with the image receiving paper,
Only the ink in the ink layer in the removed portion of the photoresist layer is transferred to the image receiving paper, and an image is formed on the image receiving paper.

The resolution of the image is mainly determined by the resolution of the exposure means, and gradation expression is also possible, so that an image with extremely high resolution can be easily obtained. The recording speed is mainly determined by the exposure means and the thickness and sensitivity of the photoresist layer, and the recording speed can be increased by forming the photoresist layer thin. Since the heat transfer means only heats the ink layer, sufficient heat can be applied to transfer to the image receiving paper, and when the ink layer is a melting type, it melts to a state where printing on plain paper is possible. It's also easy. Therefore, rather than heating the ink layer on a pixel-by-pixel basis, it suffices to heat a wide area as a whole, so that there is sufficient adhesiveness, and the transferred shape and thickness are constant, so that it is possible to achieve extremely high image quality.

Since these operations can be performed independently by the exposing means, the developing means, and the heat transfer means,
It can be achieved for the first time.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are views showing a sectional structure and a recording process of the ink sheet of the present invention.
(A) is a sectional view of the ink sheet of the present invention in an initial state. The ink sheet 1 has a laminated structure of a support 2, an ink layer 3, and a photoresist layer 4.

The support 2 is made of condenser paper, polyester,
A heat-resistant base film such as polyimide or polyethylene terephthalate, which has been subjected to a treatment including heat resistance, lubricity, or adhesiveness with the ink layer, if necessary. The ink layer 3 is an ink composed of a colorant and a binder agent, and the same ink as that used in a general thermal transfer type printer of a melting type or a sublimation type can be used. In the melt-type ink, a pigment is used as a colorant, and a natural wax such as carnauba wax or ester wax or a hot-melt resin as a binder is mixed with a softening agent and a regulator. In the case of a sublimation type, a sublimable dye is used as a coloring agent, various resins are used as a binder agent, and a release agent may be provided to prevent adhesion with an image receiving paper. The method of applying the ink layer 3 may be exactly the same as the conventional ink sheet.

The photoresist layer 4 is formed by thinly forming a general photoresist agent that is widely used in electronic circuit boards, semiconductors and the like. The forming method is a spinner method,
Any method such as a roller method, a spray method, or a dipping method may be used. This photoresist agent is classified into a positive type and a negative type, and is typically composed of a novolac resin and a nondiazide compound, or a composition composed of a cyclized rubber and a bisazide-based material, and an appropriate material is selected depending on the exposure means and the development means. .

FIG. 1 (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the stage where the photoresist layer 4 of the ink sheet 1 of the present invention has been developed, and the portion where the photoresist layer 4 is removed is the ink layer 3.
Is exposed, and the ink is transferred to the image receiving paper 5 later. FIG. 1C is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink sheet 1 of the present invention after development is brought into contact with the image receiving paper 5 and transferred by heating. If the ink layer 3 is a heat-melting type ink, it melts,
If the ink layer 3 is a sublimation type ink, the sublimable dye is sublimated and received on the image receiving paper 5. In the case of the sublimation type, a dedicated paper provided with a receptive layer is used as the image receiving paper 5, and in the case of the melting type, the ink layer 3 is sufficiently formed even if the surface smoothness is rough like a commonly used copy paper. Since it is molten, transfer is possible.

FIG. 1D is a sectional view showing a state in which the image receiving paper 5 and the ink sheet 1 of the present invention are separated from each other.
It can be seen that the ink of the ink layer 3 has been transferred to. If the ink layer 3 is peeled off in a molten state, cohesive failure may occur in the middle of the ink layer 3 and partial transfer may be possible.

As described above, in the ink sheet 1 of the present invention, since the ink of the ink layer 3 is transferred to the image receiving paper 5 due to the shape of the development of the photoresist layer 4, it can be formed with extremely high resolution and gradation by area gradation. Expressions can be reproduced very easily and with high precision. Unlike the ink sheet used in the conventional thermal transfer printer, the ink of the ink layer 3 has a function of simply melting and adhering, and therefore has a large degree of freedom such as a mixing ratio of pigments and sublimable dyes, and thus the conventional ink. It can be blended so that a sufficient concentration can be obtained even when the layer is thinner than the layer thickness. Further, the photoresist layer 4 can be made much thinner than 1 μm and the exposure time can be shortened because it is enough that the image receiving paper and the ink layer can be separated at the stage of heat transfer, so that the recording speed is increased. be able to.

Although the ink sheet 1 is composed of three layers in the figure, a release layer for improving the releasability is provided between the support 2 and the ink layer 3, or the surface of the photoresist layer 4 is provided. Alternatively, a protective layer or an undercoat layer may be provided on the back surface. Further, in order to record in color, it is sufficient to arrange the ink layers in different colors such as yellow, magenta, and cyan for each screen, as is used in a general thermal transfer printer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a recording apparatus using the ink sheet 1 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the ink sheet 1 is roll-shaped, but may be a cut sheet. The exposure unit 6 has a function of exposing the photoresist layer corresponding to a desired image, and uses a laser beam or LE.
Any material such as D, ultraviolet rays, and X-rays that exposes the photoresist layer 4 may be used, but laser light is preferable because it is easy to focus and laser light can be formed at a small size. When a laser is used as the exposure unit 6, like a general laser printer,
It may be configured to scan with various lenses and mirrors. Although not shown when used as a copying machine instead of a printer, the original may be irradiated with light and the reflected light may be imaged on the ink sheet 1 through a lens. It suffices to expose the sheet 1 in a state of being superposed.

When the photoresist layer 4 of the ink sheet 1 is exposed by the exposing means 6, the ink sheet 1 is developed by the developing means 7.
Move on to. As the developing means 7, a wet method such as water development, alkali development or solvent development, and dry development using plasma, ions, gas or the like used in dry etching are used. Any method may be used, but it depends on the material of the photoresist layer 4. When the photoresist layer 4 is developed by the developing means 7, the ink sheet 1 is formed as shown in FIG.
become that way. The photoresist removed by development can be collected by a filter or the like, or the developing means 7 itself can be replaced.

When the photoresist layer 4 is developed by the developing means 7, the ink sheet 1 is transferred to the heat transfer means 8.
The image receiving paper 5 and the ink sheet 1 pass between the two rollers in a state of being in pressure contact with each other. At that time, if the lower roller in the drawing is heated, heat is transferred to the ink layer 3 of the ink sheet 1 and the ink If the layer 3 is a melt type, it is in a molten state and transferred to the image receiving paper 5, and if the ink layer 3 is a sublimation type, the sublimable dye is sublimated and transferred to the image receiving paper 5. After that, when the image receiving paper 5 and the ink sheet 1 are separated, an image is formed on the image receiving paper 5. Whether or not the ink layer 3 is peeled off in a cooled state can be arbitrarily determined. Further, although two rollers are used in the embodiment shown in the drawing, if the ink sheet 1 can be heated, it may be heated by light, for example.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, an ink sheet is composed of at least a support, an ink layer and a photoresist layer, and an exposure means, a developing means and a heat transfer means as a recording device. Since the recording process is independent such as exposure, development, and heat transfer, the support of the ink sheet, the ink layer or the photoresist layer has flexibility in the material design, and the manufacturing cost is low. Since it does not require complicated adjustment or correction related to complicated heat even in the configuration of the recording apparatus, it can be inexpensively constructed, and the image quality uses the lithographic technique,
High resolution that is incomparable to the conventional recording method using a thermal head is obtained, and since only the photoresist layer is exposed and developed, the exposure and development time is short and the recording speed is high. In addition, since the ink layer is heated in a wide range instead of being heated for each pixel, it is possible to maintain high image quality even when transferring to an image receiving paper having low surface smoothness such as plain paper. For example, it is possible to provide an ink sheet and a recording device having various features such as recording on a cloth such as a shirt, and the effect is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of an ink sheet of the present invention and a recording process.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a recording apparatus using the ink sheet 1 of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Sheet 2 Support 3 Ink Layer 4 Photoresist Layer 5 Image Receiving Paper 6 Exposure Means 7 Developing Means 8 Heat Transfer Means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A support, at least an ink layer formed on the support and comprising a colorant and a binder, and a photoresist layer formed on the ink layer and selectively removed by exposure and development. An ink sheet comprising: 2. An ink sheet comprising at least a support, an ink layer formed on the support and containing a colorant and a binder agent, and a photoresist layer formed on the ink layer is used. Exposure means for forming an image on the photoresist layer of the ink sheet, developing means for selectively removing the photoresist layer whose chemical structure has been changed by the exposure means, and the ink sheet selectively removed. And a heating transfer means for transferring the ink of the ink layer to the image receiving paper by heating the ink in contact with the image receiving paper.