JPH0761011A - Melt type heat transfer recorder and melting heat transfer coloring agent sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a melt type heat transfer recording device and a melt type heat transfer coloring agent sheet, with which a continuous-tone image and a binaly image can be favorably recorded and, at the same time, recording can be performed with a low cost ink sheet without lowering recording speed. CONSTITUTION:The recording device concerned is equipped with a thermal head 1, which urges through ink sheet 2 against recording medium 6 so as to transfer the ink layer of the ink sheet 2 by heating the ink sheet 2 on the basis of the continuous-tone and binary image information in order to record continuous-tone and binary images, a wind-up roll 4 separating the ink sheet 2, which is heated by the thermal head and thus the ink layer of which is transferred to the recording medium 6, from the recording medium 6 and a carrying guide 3, which makes the period of time required from the urging of the ink sheet against the recording medium until the separation of the ink sheet from the recording medium after the ink layer is transferred from the ink sheet 2 onto the recording medium 6 variable depending upon at the continuous-tone image recording and at the binary image recording.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a multivalued color image,
The present invention relates to a fusion type thermal transfer recording device and a fusion type thermal transfer ink sheet for recording a binary monocolor image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Melt-type thermal transfer recording has high reliability and low noise.
It is used for various printers, facsimiles, and other recording systems because of its features such as easy maintenance and high-speed recording.

In melt-type thermal transfer recording, hot-melt ink having a binder such as wax or thermoplastic resin is subjected to heat to change its viscosity to adhere to or penetrate the recording medium in contact with the ink, and the ink sheet is peeled from the recording medium. By
It is obtained by transferring ink to a recording medium. As described above, in the melt-type thermal transfer recording utilizing the softening phenomenon of ink, since almost the entire amount of the ink in the heating area for forming an image is transferred, binary recording is performed, and the gradation is an area gradation method such as a dither method. Is expressed in a pseudo manner. However, with the area gradation method, it is necessary to obtain a dot of an accurate size,
Poor ink transfer causes image quality deterioration.

By controlling the heating amount of the heat source such as the thermal head heating resistor against the pseudo gradation like the area gradation method, the temperature gradient of the heat source itself is used. When the amount of heating is large, the ink in the central portion of the heat source is transferred to the recording medium to change the amount of transfer area of the ink to express multi-gradation (Japan Hardcopy '92 " Gradation recording in the fusion thermal transfer printing method ").

FIG. 17 shows the temperature distribution of the heating resistors of the thermal head. In this temperature distribution, the central part has the highest temperature and the peripheral part has a temperature gradient. In gradation recording using the temperature distribution of the thermal head heating resistor, this temperature gradient is used to change the amount of energy applied to the heating resistor according to the expressed gradation, and control the melting area of the ink for recording. Transfer to medium. The transferred ink changes in concentric circles, enabling continuous gradation expression. What is important here is the temperature of the contact surface between the recording medium and the ink. The closer the temperature distribution to the heating resistor, the steeper the temperature gradient inside the ink, and the easier the control of the ink melting area becomes. In order to approach the temperature distribution of the heating resistor, it is essential to make the ink sheet thinner. Currently, the development of a thinner ink sheet is being advanced and is being put to practical use.

[0006]

However, such a conventional technique also has the following problems.

When the ink sheet is thinned, both the heat-resistant support and the ink layer are thinned. However, when the ink layer is thinned, a decrease in the density due to a decrease in the ink application amount is unavoidable. Even if the number of expression gradations increases, the maximum density slightly decreases.

Further, in the gradation expression using the temperature distribution of the heating resistor, it is necessary to accelerate the peeling timing between the recording medium and the ink sheet. This is because ink transfer that well reflects the temperature distribution of the heating resistor can be obtained, and the number of expressed gradations increases.

However, since the recording medium and the ink sheet are peeled off before the melted ink is solidified, the entire ink layer cannot be transferred to the recording medium.

For the above-described two reasons, the maximum density is slightly lowered in the image expressing the gradation, but there is no problem in the image quality.

However, when a binary image such as letters and numbers is printed by the same printing method, the density decreases toward the end of the transferred ink, and the edge desired for the binary image is obtained. Sharpness is low and the image quality is deteriorated.

That is, according to the conventional technique, multi-value color image recording and binary mono-color image recording cannot be performed well.

In order to achieve both the multi-valued color image recording and the binary mono-color image recording, the multi-valued color image recording is performed by the sublimation type thermal transfer recording using the heat sublimable ink, and the edge is recorded. 2 to increase the sharpness of
There is a type in which binary monocolor image recording is performed by fusion type thermal transfer recording for value recording.

However, in such a recording method, a yellow, magenta, and cyan ink layer containing a sublimable pigment as a main component and then a heat-melting black ink layer for binary recording are formed on the same ink sheet. Therefore, there are problems that the cost for manufacturing the ink sheet is high and that the recording speed is slow because sublimation type thermal transfer recording is used.

Therefore, the present invention provides a fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus and a fusion type thermal transfer colorant sheet which can favorably record multi-valued and binary images and can record with an inexpensive ink sheet without lowering the recording speed. The purpose is to provide.

[0016]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention press-contacts a recording medium via a melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet, and based on multivalued and binary image information, the melt-type thermal transfer is carried out. Recording means for heating a colorant sheet to transfer the colorant onto the recording medium to record multi-valued and binary images, and transfer the colorant onto the recording medium by being heated by the recording means. A peeling means for peeling the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet from the recording medium, and a time until the peeling means peels the colorant from the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet after transferring the colorant to the recording medium. Is the multivalue and 2
And a variable means for varying the value when the image is recorded.

Further, in a thermal transfer recording apparatus for recording multi-valued and binary images by transferring a plurality of respective colorants applied to a support onto one recording medium based on multi-valued and binary image information. In the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet used, the amount of the colorant used for recording the binary image was made larger than the amount of the colorant used for recording the multi-valued image.

Further, a thermal transfer recording apparatus for recording a multi-valued and binary image by transferring a plurality of colorants applied to a support onto one recording medium based on multi-valued and binary image information. In the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet used, the melt viscosity of the colorant used for recording the binary image was set higher than the melt viscosity of the colorant used for recording the multi-valued image.

[0019]

The time required for the melting type thermal transfer colorant sheet to be peeled off by the peeling means after the colorant is transferred onto the recording medium is set at the time of multi-valued image recording and at the time of binary image recording. By changing the value with, it is possible to increase the sharpness of the edge when recording a binary image without reducing the number of gradations when recording a multivalued image.

Further, by increasing the amount of the coloring agent used for recording the binary image above the amount of the coloring agent used for recording the multi-valued image, the number of gradations in recording the multi-valued image is reduced. In addition, a sufficient image density can be obtained during binary image recording.

Further, by making the melt viscosity amount of the colorant used for recording the binary image higher than the melt viscosity of the colorant used for recording the multivalued image, gradation at the time of recording the multivalued image is obtained. Without reducing the number, sufficient density is obtained during binary image recording and edge sharpness is increased.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus, in which 1 is a thermal print head (hereinafter referred to as THP) as a recording means. The heating resistor portion of the THP 1 is pressed against the recording medium 6 mounted on the table 7. The recording medium 6 is moved in the sub-scanning direction by rotating the ball screw 8 by the table moving motor 9. The ink sheet 2 as a heat transfer colorant sheet is sent out from a supply roll 5 and wound up by a winding roll 4 as a peeling means. On the downstream side of the TPH 1, there is provided a transport guide 3 as a varying means for varying the separation timing of the ink sheet 2 and the recording medium 6. The operation of the transport guide 3 will be described later in detail.

FIG. 2 shows that the ink on the ink sheet 2 is TPH.
1 shows the configuration in the vicinity of the recording portion, which is transferred to the recording medium 6 by 1. A transmissive sensor 10 is provided between the supply roll 5 and the TPH 1 to cue the ink sheet 2. The TPH 1 is urged downward by the spring 14 and pressed against the recording medium 6 via the ink sheet 2. Above T
An arm 13 is attached to PH1 and this arm 13
Is an eccentric cam 1 rotated by a TPH moving motor 11.
It is moved up and down by 2. When the arm 13 moves upward, the pressure contact of the TPH 1 with the ink sheet 2 is released.

The transport guide 3 is attached to the tip of the link 16, and the transport guide 3 biases or releases the ink sheet 2 to the recording medium 6 by the solenoid 15 and the spring 17.

FIG. 3 shows the ink sheet 2 by the conveyance guide 3.
The operation of urging and releasing the recording medium 6 will be described. The arm 16 has three arms centered on the pivot 18.
It is divided into 16a to 16c in the frame portion. The arm part 1
The conveyance guide 3 is attached to 6a, the solenoid 15 is attached to the arm portion 16b, and the spring 17 is attached to the arm portion 16c.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the solenoid 15
When a current flows in the direction of arrow d, the arm portion 16b is pulled in the direction of arrow d, the spring 17 overcomes in the direction of arrow e, and the conveyance guide 3 does not urge the ink sheet 2 to the recording medium 6. In this state, the ink sheet 2 is the heat generating portion 1 of the TPH 1.
After being heated by a, the ink is transferred onto the recording medium 6 and then immediately separated from the recording medium 6.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the current does not flow through the solenoid 15, the arm 17c is pulled in the direction of arrow e by the spring 17, and the conveyance guide 3 causes the ink sheet 2 to be recorded on the recording medium 6. Urge to. In this state,
The ink sheet 2 is heated by the heat generating portion 1a of the TPH 1 to transfer the ink to the recording medium 6, and then comes into contact with the recording medium 6 up to the conveyance guide 3 and is separated along the conveyance guide 3.

FIG. 4 shows the operation for urging and releasing the TPH 1 on the recording medium 6 via the ink sheet 2.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the TPH moving motor 11 rotates the eccentric cam 12 and the eccentric cam 12 pushes up the arm 13 attached to the TPH 1 to
H1 is separated from the recording medium 6. In this state, the ink sheet 2 is cueed, the recording medium 6 is attached to the table 7, or after recording a color image, the recording medium 6 is moved to record the next color. Further, when the eccentric cam 12 is not in contact with the arm 13 as shown in FIG. 4B, the TPH 1 receives the force in the direction of arrow a by the spring 14.
The recording medium 6 is urged via the ink sheet 2. Recording is performed in this state.

A block diagram of the control system of the recording apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIG.

The CPU 100 includes a ROM 101 and a RAM
102 is connected to perform a series of control of the recording apparatus. Image data to be recorded is input from the I / F 103 and stored in the RAM 102. Further, the sensor 10 for cueing the ink sheet 2 has a position detecting circuit 104.
Connected through. Further, a table moving motor (M1) 9 for conveying the recording medium 6, a TPH moving motor (M2) for urging / releasing the thermal head 1 to / from the recording medium 6, and an ink sheet 2 for conveying. The ink sheet take-up motor (M3) 18 and the solenoid 15 as a drive unit for bringing the conveyance guide 3 into and out of contact with the recording medium 6 are drive circuits 105 and 10, respectively.
It is connected to the CPU 100 via 6, 107, 108, and 109.

Next, the ink sheet used in the recording apparatus will be described. FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the ink sheet 2. The ink sheet 2 has a structure in which an ink layer 51 made of a binder such as a coloring material and a wax is melt-coated to a thickness of 2 μm on a heat-resistant support 50 having a thickness of 3.5 μm such as PET. The ink layers 51 are a yellow ink layer 51Y, a magenta ink layer 51M, and a cyan ink layer 5
1C and the black ink layer 51B are applied in this order. Further, as a mark 52 to be detected by the sensor for cueing the ink sheet at the start of recording, black ink having a width of 5 mm and not transmitting light is applied in front of the yellow ink layer 51Y.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the recording medium 6 on which a multi-valued color image and a binary mono-colored image are printed in a mixed manner by using the above-mentioned recording device. The image 53 on the left side of the recording medium 6 in FIG. 7 is a multi-valued image in which density modulation is performed within one pixel such as a human face, and the image 54 inside the dotted line on the right side is a binary image such as characters and numbers. is there. A vinyl chloride card was used as the recording medium 6, and printing was performed directly on the surface of the card.

Next, a block diagram of the control system of FIG. 5 and FIG.
A series of operations of the recording apparatus when forming the image shown in FIG. 7 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, the RAM 102 is passed through the I / F 103.
The yellow, cyan, magenta, and black image data are transferred to the. Here, like the image shown in FIG. 7, multi-valued image data extends from the tip to a predetermined line, and binary data thereafter. Then, the recording medium 6 is mounted on the table 7. A recording start signal is output from the control unit including the CPU 100, the ROM 101, and the like, and the ink sheet take-up motor 18 is driven to convey the ink sheet 2, and the ink sheet 2 is indexed. At this time, when the sensor 10 detects the mark 52 having a width of 5 mm, it sends a signal to the control unit via the position detection circuit 104. Then, the ink sheet take-up motor 18 is stopped by a signal from the control unit to the drive circuit 108, and the cueing of the ink sheet 2 is completed. Next, the thermal head 1 is pressed toward the recording medium 6 by driving the TPH moving motor 11 by a signal from the control unit to the drive circuit 106, and the ink sheet 2 is brought into contact with the recording medium 6. Next, printing is performed in the order of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The series of operations for recording the four colors is as follows.

First, a yellow image is formed. When multi-value recording is performed from the start of recording to a predetermined line, a current flows through the solenoid 15 via the drive circuit 109,
By the operation shown in FIG. 3, the transport guide 3 is separated from the recording medium 6. The table moving motor 9 is the drive circuit 1
06, the table 7 moves to move the recording medium 6
Are conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 at the desired recording speed. In synchronization with this, the ink sheet 2 is conveyed by driving the ink sheet winding motor 18. Further, in synchronization with these, in the thermal head 1, a voltage is applied by the drive circuit 1 to the heating resistor corresponding to the image data stored in the RAM 102. The ink sheet 2 is heated by the heating resistor, the ink layer 51 is melted, and a multi-valued image is formed on the recording medium 6.

When the multi-valued image formation up to the predetermined line is completed, the current flow to the solenoid 15 is stopped. As a result, the spring 13 causes the arm 13 to move the ink sheet 2
Is pressed against the recording medium 6 to start recording a binary image. A binary image is formed by performing the same operation as multi-value recording except that no current is applied to the solenoid 15. RA
When the recording of the yellow image data of M102 is completed,
The TPH 1 and the transport guide 13 are separated from the recording medium 6, the table moving motor 9 rotates in the direction opposite to the recording direction, and the table 7 returns to the recording start position. Then cyan, magenta,
The same operation is performed on the black image to form a color image.

In this embodiment, a multivalued image is present in the first half of the image and a binary image is present in the latter half of the image, but even if the arrangement is reversed, the solenoid 15 is energized and deenergized to bring the conveyance guide 13 into contact with the recording medium. Similar recording conditions can be obtained by controlling.

When recording is carried out by the above recording apparatus, the angle formed by the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 when the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 are peeled off is preferably 30 degrees or more. Figure 9
9A shows the recording medium at the boundary between the non-melting portion and the melting portion in the ink layer when the angle formed when the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 are separated is smaller than 30 degrees, and FIG. The state of the force acting on the surface is shown. When the area B in FIG. 9 is heated and melt-transferred, the area A has a tension of 2 at the non-melting portion.
The ink layer thickness direction component 202 of 00 is the force for peeling off the ink sheet 2 and the recording medium 6. Ink layer thickness direction component 2
No. 02 becomes smaller as shown by an arrow 202 in FIG. 9A when the angle formed by the ink sheet 2 and the recording medium 6 becomes smaller, and the separation between the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 becomes unstable, and the recording becomes The medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 may not be immediately separated. In the gradation expression using the temperature distribution of the heating resistor of TPH, it is indispensable that the peeling timing is early in order to bring the temperature distribution of the surface of the recording medium close to the temperature distribution of the heating resistor at the time of recording. Unstable separation from the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 should be avoided, and an angle between the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 of 30 degrees or more is appropriate.

Next, a detailed description will be given of the ink transfer state when printing is performed by the above printing apparatus with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 12 show the transfer state of the ink when the peeling timing between the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 is changed. FIG. 10 shows the case where the peeling timing between the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 is early, and FIG. 11 shows the transfer state of the ink when the peeling timing is advanced and the amount of energy applied to the thermal head 1 is changed. .

Further, FIG. 12 shows a case where the peeling timing between the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2 is late.

When the peeling timing is early, FIG. 10 (a)
As shown in FIG. 3, the temperature of the melted ink 51 does not decrease, and the ink in the transfer portion B is in a molten state during the peeling, and the cohesive force inside the ink layer 51 is weak. Occurs, and a part of the ink layer 51 is transferred to the recording medium 6 as shown in FIG.

By advancing the peeling timing, the thermal diffusion in the ink layer 51 can be reduced and the ink transfer can be obtained in which the temperature distribution of the heating resistor is well reflected.

As shown in FIG. 11, by changing the amount of energy applied to the thermal head 1 to change the temperature distribution of the heating resistors, dots having a size corresponding to the temperature distribution can be stably obtained. However, since the entire ink layer 51 cannot be transferred to the recording medium, the temperature distribution changes gently from the end of the dot as shown in part a of FIG. 11C, which is required for a binary monocolor image. The sharpness of the edge becomes low.

On the other hand, when the peeling timing is late, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the temperature of the ink is lowered, the ink is in a re-solidified state, and the cohesive force of the ink inside the ink layer 51 becomes strong, so that the melted ink layer 51 as shown in FIG. The whole is transcribed. As a result, FIG.
As in the part (b) of (c), the density distribution changes abruptly from the edge of the dot, a sufficient maximum density is obtained, and the sharpness of the edge required for a binary monocolor image can be increased. .

As described above, in the recording apparatus of the present invention, the transfer amount of ink can be changed by changing the peeling timing between the recording medium 6 and the ink sheet 2, and the number of gradations in multi-value color image recording can be changed. It is possible to increase the sharpness of edges in binary monocolor image recording without reducing

FIG. 13 shows a side view and a plan view of another ink sheet of the present invention.

This ink sheet 202 is a hot-melt color ink 201 containing a coloring material on a heat-resistant support 200.
Is obtained by hot melt coating. As the heat melting type medium, a mixture of waxes such as carnauba wax, microcrystalline wax, and paraffin wax is preferable. The colored ink layer 201 includes a yellow ink layer 201Y and a magenta ink layer 201 for recording a multi-valued color image.
Ink sheet 202 in the order of M and cyan ink layer 201C
The black ink layer 201B for recording a binary monocolor image is applied so that the layer thickness is thicker than the ink layers of the three colors.

In this embodiment, the ink application thickness is yellow,
The magenta and cyan inks have a thickness of 1 to 3 μm, and the black ink has a thickness of 4 to 5 μm. Further, the heat resistant support has a thickness of 4.5 μm.

FIG. 14 shows the relationship between the number of gradations that can be expressed within the dots of the ink layer and the maximum density of the image. When the ink layer thickness is 1 to 3 μm, a large number of gradations can be obtained, but the maximum density is slightly low. Further, the ink layer thickness is 4 to 5
With μm, the number of gradations is very small and binary, but a sufficient maximum density can be obtained.

Ink layer thickness used in this example is 1 to 3 μm.
Is suitable for the yellow, magenta, and cyan ink layer thicknesses used for multi-valued color image recording because it has a large number of gradations and a sufficient density for multi-valued color image recording. In addition, since the ink layer thickness of 4 to 5 μm has a small number of gradations and can obtain the maximum density required for binary monocolor image recording, the black ink layer thickness used for binary monocolor image recording is Are suitable.

FIG. 15 shows a sectional view of still another ink sheet of the present invention. This ink sheet 302 is
It is obtained by heat-melting and coating a heat-melting colored ink 301 containing a colorant on the heat-resistant support 300. The colored ink layer 301 is applied in the order of a yellow ink layer 301Y for recording a multi-valued color image, a magenta ink layer 301M, and a cyan ink layer 301C, and these inks have almost the same melt viscosity curve. Then, a black ink layer 301B having a melt viscosity curve different from that of the ink layers of three colors for recording a binary monocolor image is applied. As the heat-melting type medium, yellow, magenta and cyan colorants for recording multi-valued color images are mixed, and a mixture containing carnauba wax, microcrystalline wax, paraffin wax and other waxes as a main component is preferable, As a material to be mixed with a black colorant for recording a binary mono-color image, it is preferable to use a resin mainly containing resins such as polyimide, polyketone, and ethylene vinyl acetate.

FIG. 16 shows an example of melt viscosity characteristics of waxes and resins used in this embodiment. The viscosity characteristics a of the waxes used in the yellow, cyan, and magenta inks of this embodiment change sharply with temperature, and the viscosity characteristics b of the resins used in the black ink change smoothly with temperature. is doing. Further, the viscosity of the resin is higher than that of the wax at the temperature at which the ink layer is transferred. In the case of a coloring ink having a low viscosity and a sharp viscosity change with temperature like the waxes used in this example, the applied temperature distribution can be accurately converted into a viscosity change.
Further, since the ink viscosity is low, the self-aggregating force of the ink is small, and the ink is easily cut off from the ink layer to the recording medium. Therefore, it is suitable for gradation recording using the temperature distribution of the thermal head heating resistor. In the case of a coloring ink whose viscosity changes smoothly with temperature like the resins used in this example and has a high viscosity, the self-aggregation force of the ink at the time of melting is large and the entire ink layer is transferred to the recording medium. To do. By transferring the entire ink layer to the recording medium, a sufficient maximum density can be stably obtained in the recording of a binary monocolor image, and the edge sharpness required for the binary monocolor image is increased. can do.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, the multi-value color image recording is performed by changing the peeling timing between the recording medium and the colorant sheet in the multi-value color image recording and the binary mono-color image recording. It is possible to sufficiently increase the image density of a binary monocolor image without reducing the number of expressed gradations in image recording, and it is possible to increase the sharpness of edges in the binary monocolor image.

Further, in the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet, the layer thickness of the colorant for recording a binary image is made thicker than the layer thickness of the colorant for recording a multilevel image. The image density of a binary image can be sufficiently increased without reducing the number of expression gradations.

Further, in the case of the fusion type thermal transfer coloring agent sheet, 2
Since the melt viscosity of the colorant that records a multi-valued image is made higher than the melt viscosity of the colorant that records a multi-valued image, a binary image of The image density can be sufficiently increased, and the sharpness of edges in a binary image can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a recording unit of the fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus of FIG.

3A and 3B show an operation of the conveyance guide in the recording unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 3A shows a state in which the conveyance guide is released upward, and FIG. The figure which shows the state which presses G.

4A and 4B show the operation of the thermal head shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state in which the thermal head has been released upward, and FIG. 4B is an ink seal for the thermal head. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the recording medium is pressed through the contact.

5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an ink sheet used in the fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus of FIG.

7 is a plan view showing an image recorded by the fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a recording operation of the fusion type thermal transfer recording apparatus of FIG.

9A and 9B show angles of the ink sheet of FIG. 6 when peeled from a recording medium. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a state in which the ink sheet is peeled at a low angle, and FIG. The figure which shows the state which an ink sheet peels at a high angle.

FIG. 10 shows a case where the ink sheet of FIG. 6 is peeled off from the recording medium at an early timing, FIG. 10 (a) is a diagram showing a peeled state of the ink sheet, and FIG. 10 (b) is after peeling of the ink sheet. FIG.

11 is an energy applied to the thermal head of FIG.
FIG. 1 shows the state of ink when the amount is changed.
1 (a) shows a case where the amount of energy applied to the thermal head is small, FIG. 11 (b) shows a case where the amount of energy applied to the thermal head is medium, and FIG. 11 (c).
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where the amount of energy applied to the thermal head is large.

FIG. 12 shows a case where the peeling timing of the ink sheet of FIG. 6 from a recording medium is late, FIG. 12 (a) shows a state in which the ink is re-solidified, and FIG. 12 (b) shows a melted ink layer transferred. FIG. 12C is a diagram showing a state where the ink is transferred, and FIG.

FIG. 13 shows another ink sheet of the present invention, FIG. 13 (a) is a side view of the ink sheet, and FIG. 13 (b) is a plan view of the ink sheet.

14 is a graph showing the relationship between the ink layer thickness and the number of gradations of the ink sheet shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing still another ink sheet of the present invention.

16 is a graph showing the relationship between ink temperature and ink viscosity of the ink sheet of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the thermal head and the temperature in the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Thermal head (recording means) 2, 202, 302
... Ink sheet (heat transfer colorant sheet), 4 ... Winding roll (peeling means), 51, 201, 301 ... Ink layer (colorant layer), 3 ... Conveying guide, (variable means), 6 ... recoding media.

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] May 26, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Figure 9

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

9A and 9B show angles of the ink sheet of FIG. 6 when peeled from a recording medium. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a state in which the ink sheet is peeled at a low angle, and FIG. The figure which shows the state which an ink sheet peels at a high angle.

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location 9121-2H B41M 5/26 J

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium is brought into pressure contact with a recording medium via a fusion type thermal transfer colorant sheet, and the fusion type thermal transfer colorant sheet is heated on the basis of multi-valued and binary image information to apply the colorant to the recording medium. Recording means for transferring multi-valued and binary images by transferring to a recording medium, and a melting type thermal transfer colorant sheet having a colorant transferred to the recording medium is peeled from the recording medium by being heated by the recording means. Peeling means, and the time until peeling by the peeling means after the colorant is transferred to the recording medium from the melting type thermal transfer coloring agent sheet is variable between the multi-valued and binary image recording. A melt type thermal transfer recording apparatus, comprising: 2. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peeling time of the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet is longer in binary image recording than in multivalued image recording. 3. A thermal transfer recording apparatus for recording multi-valued and binary images by transferring a plurality of colorants applied to a support onto one recording medium based on multi-valued and binary image information. In the melting type thermal transfer colorant sheet used, the amount of the coloring agent used for recording the binary image is larger than the amount of the coloring agent used for recording the multi-valued image. Agent sheet. 4. A thermal transfer recording apparatus for recording multi-valued and binary images by transferring a plurality of colorants applied to a support onto one recording medium based on multi-valued and binary image information. In the melt-type thermal transfer colorant sheet used, the melt viscosity of the colorant used for recording the binary image is higher than the melt viscosity of the colorant used for recording the multi-valued image. Mold colorant sheet.