JPH0781102A - Thermal transfer recording method and cassette for thermal transfer sheet used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a good quality image to be obtained by removing adhesion of a thermal transfer sheet with an image receiving sheet in recording by a method wherein a release agent is added between the image receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet before applying heat, and the release agent is removed from at least the image receiving sheet after transferring dye. CONSTITUTION:In a cassette 6 for a thermal transfer sheet wherein a roll like thermal transfer sheet 3 is wound around on an unwind roll and its tip is fixed to a wind-up roll, an imparting member 7a of a release agent or a lubricant agent is provided onto an unwind side of a thermal transfer sheet 3 and a removing member 7b of the release agent or the lubricant agent is provided onto its wind-up roll side. Then, when an image receiving sheet 4 is piled on the thermal transfer sheet 3 in a thermal transfer device and heat is applied from a back surface of the sheet 3 to transfer dye to the sheet 4, the release agent is added between the sheet 4 and the sheet 3 before applying heat, and the release agent is removed from at least the image receiving sheet 4 after transferring dye. Consequently the thermal transfer sheet which is good in shelf stability and the image receiving sheet of which an image keeping quality is good can bee obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording method and a thermal transfer sheet cassette used therefor, and more particularly to a recording method in sublimation type thermal transfer recording and a thermal transfer sheet cassette useful for carrying out the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the demand for full-color printers has been increasing year by year, and there are electrophotographic methods, ink jet recording methods, and thermal transfer recording methods as recording methods for these full-color printers. The thermal transfer recording method is often used. This thermal transfer recording method uses a thermal transfer sheet (so-called color ink sheet) in which a colorant is dispersed in a hot melt substance or an ink layer in which a heat transferable dye is dispersed in a resin binder is provided on a substrate. An image receiving sheet is superposed on the ink layer surface, and thermal energy controlled by an electric signal from a laser beam or a thermal head is applied from the side of the thermal transfer sheet, and the ink in that portion is transferred by heat fusion transfer or heat transfer onto the image receiving sheet to form an image. Is a method of forming. Therefore, this heat-sensitive transfer recording method is roughly classified into a heat melting type and a heat transfer type depending on the type of recording medium (heat transfer sheet) to be used. It is considered to be the most suitable method for obtaining a full-color print, because it has an advantage that halftone can be easily obtained because it is transferred in the form of a single molecule.
The thermal transfer may be carried out by a thermal head, but may also be carried out by electric transfer after adjusting the support layer and / or the ink layer so as to generate Joule heat by energization. It is also possible to use the laser transfer method by selecting a material that absorbs laser light and generates heat as a support.

However, in this heat transfer type thermal transfer recording method, since the thermal transfer sheet and the image receiving sheet are recording while being softened, both are easily fused at the time of recording, and it is intended to prevent this, and therefore, in general, A release agent is contained in either or both of the thermal transfer sheet and the image receiving sheet (JP-A-62-23793). However, since an effective release agent has a low melting point and the like, a thermal transfer sheet adopting a form coexisting with a dye promotes crystallization and surface migration of the dye during storage, and as a result, the storage performance of the thermal transfer sheet is improved. There is an inconvenience that it decreases.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording method capable of obtaining a high quality image without fusion between the thermal transfer sheet and the image receiving sheet during recording, and a thermal transfer sheet useful for carrying out the method. It provides a cassette. Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording method capable of obtaining a high-quality image by an n-fold mode recording method (also referred to as "speed difference mode method"), and a cassette for a thermal transfer sheet suitable for carrying out the method. It is provided.

[0005]

The first aspect of the present invention is thermal transfer recording in which a heat transfer sheet is superposed on an image receiving sheet and a heat transfer sheet is applied with heat from the back side of the thermal transfer sheet to transfer a dye to the image receiving sheet. In the method, a release agent is applied between the image-receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet before applying heat,
And at least removing the release agent from the image-receiving sheet after the dye transfer.

In a second aspect of the present invention, an image receiving sheet and a thermal transfer sheet are superposed in a thermal transfer device, the thermal transfer sheet is conveyed while the relative speed of the image receiving sheet is reduced, and heat is applied from the back surface of the thermal transfer sheet. In the thermal transfer recording method of transferring the dye to the image-receiving sheet, a releasing agent or a lubricant is applied between the image-receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet before applying heat, and at least the image-receiving sheet after the dye transfer. From the mold release agent or lubricant.

A third aspect of the present invention is a cassette for a thermal transfer sheet in which a roll-shaped thermal transfer sheet is wound around an unwinding roll and the front end is fixed to a winding roll, and a releasing agent or a lubricant is provided on the delivery side of the thermal transfer sheet. And a member for removing the release agent or the lubricant is provided on the winding roll side.

The present invention will be described in more detail below. FIG. 1 shows a typical embodiment of the first and second methods according to the present invention, in which 3 is a thermal transfer sheet and 4 is an image receiving sheet. Further, in FIG. 1, the releasing agent applying member 7a is in contact with the surface of the thermal transfer sheet 3 and the surface of the image receiving sheet 4, whereas in FIG. 2, the releasing agent or lubricant applying member 8a is in contact with only the image receiving sheet. There are some differences. The moving speed of the thermal transfer sheet 3 (n ₃₎ and the moving speed of the image receiving sheet ₄ (n 4), but in the first method of the present invention the relation of n ₃ = n _4, the second method of the present invention In the (speed difference mode method), the relationship of n ₃ <n ₄ is established.

The thermal transfer sheet 3 and the image receiving sheet 4 are overlapped,
When heat is applied from the thermal head 2 from the back surface of the heat transfer sheet 3 according to the image signal 1, for example, a release agent is applied between the heat transfer sheet 3 and the image receiving sheet 4 before applying the heat, and If the release agent is removed from at least the image-receiving sheet 4 after the application of (i.e., after transferring the dye),
Fusing between the thermal transfer sheet 3 and the image receiving sheet 4 is effectively prevented, and in the speed difference mode method, a lubricant is used instead of the above-mentioned release agent, and good results are obtained without any inconvenience. It should be noted that a release agent may be used without replacing it with a lubricant, which is effective for reducing the frictional resistance derived from the n-fold mode recording method, and the lubricant is the same as the release agent. This is because it is considered to have the side effect of 1 and 2, 5 is a platen roller, 6 is a cassette, 7b is a release agent removing member, and 8b.
Is a release agent or a lubricant removing member.

The object to which the releasing agent or the lubricant is applied is that when the releasing agent or the lubricant is applied to the thermal transfer sheet, the thermal transfer sheet has a high dye concentration between immediately after the printing and the side effect of the releasing agent or the lubricant. The image receiving sheet is particularly preferable because it is affected by the above, and there is a risk of image density unevenness due to dye density unevenness due to dye surface migration.

As the release agent or lubricant applied before recording, those having releasability or lubricity can be generally used. For example, petroleum-based lubricating oil such as liquid paraffin, halogenated hydrocarbon, diester oil, Synthetic lubricants such as silicone oil and fluorosilicone oil, various modified silicone oils (epoxy modified, amino modified, alkyl modified, polyether modified, alcohol modified, carboxyl modified, etc.), organic compounds such as polyoxyalkylene glycol, and silicone Silicone-based lubricating substances such as copolymers, fluorine-based or phosphoric acid ester-based surfactants, various fluorine-based surfactants such as fluoroalkyl compounds, fluorine-based lubricating substances such as trifluorochloroethylene low polymer, paraffin Wax, amide wax, Teflon wax, Teflon powder, polyethylene Waxes such as wax, higher fatty acids, higher aliphatic alcohols, higher alcohols, higher fatty acid amides, higher fatty acid esters, higher fatty acid salts, molybdenum disulfide, etc. can be used, and among them, modified or non-modified silicone oils can be used. It is preferable because it can be uniformly applied to the target substance, effective release properties and slipperiness can be obtained with a small amount, and storage stability in the thermal transfer device is excellent.

As a method for applying the release agent or the lubricant, a generally used method can be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the release agent or the lubricant 9 is supplied from the roller to the porous material 10 of the application member. Alternatively, a large number of applying means such as a method of directly impregnating the porous material 10 and applying the material while rotating the porous material 10 in the forward direction or the reverse direction with respect to the conveying direction of the object are possible.

As a method for removing the release agent or the lubricant,
A commonly used wiping method can be used, specifically, with a wiping member such as cloth, porous cloth or felt,
A method of removing the release agent or lubricant on the object in contact with it, stopping the release agent or lubricant with the rubber roller or porous roller in the conveying direction of the object, rotating in the forward or reverse direction A large number of applying means such as a method of removing them while allowing them are possible.

The felt, which is used as a release agent or lubricant removing member, has an appropriate hardness so that the object is not easily scratched during removal, and the release agent or lubricant has a holding capacity and a holding capacity per unit volume. It is particularly preferable that the removal efficiency is low because the removal rate is low.

Further, the release agent applying member 7a, the release agent or lubricant applying member 8a, and their removing members 7b and 8b.
Are located in front of and behind the recording unit in the thermal transfer sheet cassette, and even if they exist independently of each other, it is desirable that they are arranged so as to move, rotate, etc. in a form connected to the transport system (FIGS. 1 and 2). . Also, these members 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Became unable to perform its desired function due to a decrease in the release agent or lubricant in the imparting members 7a and 8a and a decrease in the removing ability due to the accumulation of the release agent or lubricant in the removing members 7b and 8b, etc. with the number of times of use. In this case, it is necessary to recover the capacity by recycling or replacing. When regenerating, as shown in FIG. 5, the release agent or lubricant in the impregnated porous material 10 is scraped off with a blade 11 or the like, or as shown in FIG.
It is desirable to rotate the porous material 10 having a large number of protrusions and use a method in which the rotation is continuous. Further, as described above, by using the thermal transfer sheet cassette as the member for applying or removing the release agent or the lubricant (FIG. 7), it is not necessary to use the sensor for lowering the capacity of both parts in order to reduce the capacity of each member. This is particularly preferable because it can be reliably performed at a certain number of times of use and at the same time as the conventional thermal transfer sheet cassette exchange, and the labor of exchanging only both members can be omitted.

The thermal transfer sheet used in the recording method of the present invention is a conventional one, and the base sheet is a film such as a condenser paper, a polyester film, a polystyrene film, a polysulfin film, a polyimide film or a polyaramid film. Is used
If necessary, a conventional adhesive layer or the like may be provided between the base sheet and the dye supply layer, and a conventional heat resistant lubricating layer may be provided on the back surface of the base sheet if necessary. .

The sublimable dye is a dye that sublimes or vaporizes at 60 ° C. or higher, and may be any dye mainly used in thermal transfer printing such as disperse dyes and oil-soluble dyes. I. Disperse Yellow 1,3,8,9,1
6,41,54,60,77,116 and the like. I. Disperse Blue 3,14,19,26,56,60,
64, 72, 99, 108, etc. C.I. I. Solvent Yellow 77, 116, C.I. I. Solvent Red 23, 25, 27, C.I. I. Solvent Blue 3
6, 83, 105 and the like can be used, and one of these dyes can be used, but a mixture of several dyes can also be used.

The binder resin for the dye supply layer (ink layer) may be any conventionally known one, for example, ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose,
Cellulosic resins such as ethylhydroxycellulose, methylcellulose, and cellulose acetate, vinyl alcohols such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and polyacrylamide are listed. Among them, polyvinyl butyral is heat resistant and a dye. It is desirable from the standpoint of migration and so on.

The dye concentration is about 5 to 80% by weight, preferably about 10 to 60% by weight. The thickness of the dye supply layer is 0.1 μm to 30 μm, preferably 0.5 μm to
The range of 2.0 μm is preferable.

The dye supply layer according to the present invention is basically formed of the above materials, but may contain various conventionally known additives as required.

The dye supply layer of the thermal transfer sheet may be formed by selecting any one of the dyes or by mixing the dyes when the desired image is a monocolor image. In the case of a color image, for example, appropriate cyan, magenta, and yellow (and black, if necessary) are selected, and yellow, magenta, and cyan (and black, if necessary) dye supply layers are surface-sequentially. Form.

The above description of the thermal transfer sheet has been made with the recording method using a thermal head in mind.
The thermal transfer sheet of the present invention can also be used for other methods, for example, a printing method using a hot printing plate, laser light, or Joule heat generated in a medium such as a support. Among them, the energization thermal transfer method using the Joule heat generated in the thermal transfer sheet is the best known, and this recording method is described in, for example, USP 4,103,066 and JP-A-57-14.
It is described in many documents such as JP-A No. 060, JP-A No. 57-11080, and JP-A No. 59-9096.

When recording is carried out by this electric transfer method, as a support of the thermal transfer sheet, a resin having relatively high heat resistance such as polyester, polycarbonate, triacetyl cellulose, nylon, polyimide, aromatic polyamide or the like is used. Supports in which metal powders such as copper, iron, tin, zinc, nickel, molybdenum, and silver and / or conductive powders such as carbon black are dispersed to adjust the resistance value between an insulator and a good conductor, and these supports It is preferable to use a support or the like in which the above-mentioned conductive metal of the body is vapor-deposited or sputtered. The thickness of these supports is preferably about 2 to 15 μm in consideration of the Joule heat conduction efficiency. When used in the laser light transfer method, a material that absorbs laser light and generates heat is selected as the support of the thermal transfer sheet. For example, a conventional thermal transfer film containing a light absorption conversion agent such as carbon, or an absorption layer formed on the front surface and / or the back surface of a support is used.

On the other hand, examples of the image receiving sheet include various papers, plastic films, rubber films and the like as a substrate. Paper includes fine paper, art paper, coated paper, wallpaper, backing paper, synthetic resin or emulsion impregnated paper,
Synthetic rubber latex-impregnated paper, synthetic resin internal paper, paperboard, synthetic fiber paper, etc., and plastic films such as polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, methacrylate, polycarbonate, etc. Alternatively, a laminate is used. The thickness of the substrate is 50-200μ
m is suitable.

The image receiving layer (dye receiving layer) is a polar resin such as polyester, polyamide, acrylic resin, acetate resin, polystyrene resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, which is dyed with a sublimable dye. The resin having a group is used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds.
It is formed by coating so as to be about 10 g / m ² .
Further, the dye receiving layer may contain a filler. Examples of the filler include white pigments such as silica, titanium oxide and calcium carbonate, and the addition amount thereof is preferably 5 to 60% by weight based on the receiving layer. In addition, the image-receiving layer may appropriately contain an interface lubricant, an ultraviolet absorber, an antioxidant, a fluorescent brightening agent, and the like. Further, for the purpose of improving the appearance and smoothness of the image-receiving sheet, an intermediate layer may be applied, or after providing the intermediate layer and the image-receiving layer, smoothing may be performed by a pressure device such as a super calender. If necessary, the surface area of the image receiving layer may be subjected to an antistatic treatment with an interface lubricant or the like on the back surface.

When recording is performed by the speed difference mode method in the present invention, a general thermal transfer sheet can be used. Among them, JP-A-1-157891 and JP-A-2-586 can be used. The materials described in, etc. are particularly preferably used because they have the ability to record many times.
In particular, a material in which the heat resistance of the image receiving layer is improved by adding a thermosetting resin, an ultraviolet curing resin or the like is particularly preferable in order to prevent slipperiness due to fusion in the speed difference mode method.

[0027]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. Parts herein are by weight.

Example 1 (Dye supply layer formulation) Organic binder: Polyvinyl butyral BX-1 (manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 10 parts Heat transfer dye for yellow: Yellow VP (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu Dye Co., Ltd.) 8 parts Heat transfer dye for magenta: Magennta VP (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu Dye Co., Ltd.) 8 parts Heat transfer dye for cyan: Cyan VP (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu Dye Co., Ltd.) 8 parts Solvent: Toluene 95 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 95 parts These compositions ( However, the dyes were used separately)
After dispersing in a ball mill for 4 hours, a wire bar was used on a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of about 6 μm with a heat-resistant layer of silicone resin having a thickness of about 1 μm on the back surface, and the thickness after drying was about 1 μm for each of yellow, magenta and cyan colors. A dye transfer layer having a frame sequence of No. 1 was formed to prepare a thermal transfer sheet.

Further, a mixture having the following composition is thoroughly mixed and dispersed to prepare a coating liquid for intermediate layer [liquid A] and a coating liquid for dye receiving layer [B].
Solution], and then [Solution A] and [Solution B] are sequentially applied onto a synthetic paper having a thickness of about 180 μm using a wire bar and dried (drying temperature 90 ° C. for 1 minute) to form an intermediate solution of about 3 μm. An image receiving sheet was prepared by forming a layer and an image receiving layer. [Liquid A] Polyester resin (Byron 200, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) dissolved in toluene / methyl ethyl ketone mixed solvent [Liquid B] Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (VYHH, manufactured by Union Carbide) toluene / methyl ethyl ketone Dissolved in mixed solvent

Subsequently, a synthetic lubricating oil ester; MINERASOLL-164 (manufactured by Ito Oil Co., Ltd.) was coated on the thermal transfer sheet with a porous roll before recording, and after recording, with cotton fabric BEMCOT (manufactured by Asahi Kagaku). The synthetic lubricating oil ester on the image-receiving layer was wiped off. The recording conditions are as follows. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1. Applied power: 432 mw / dot Thermal head: Resolution 6 dots / mm Recording time: 7.0 ms Applied energy: 3.02 mj / dot

Example 2 A wire bar was used on an aromatic polyamide film having a thickness of about 6 μm having a heat-resistant layer of a silicone resin of about 1 μm, an intermediate adhesive layer having a thickness of about 1 μm, and then a dye supply layer (about 1 μm thick), a dye transfer contributing layer (about 1 μm thick) and a low dyeing resin layer (about 1 μm thick) were respectively formed and cured at 60 ° C. for 24 hours to prepare a thermal transfer recording sheet. [Intermediate adhesive layer] Polyvinyl butyral (BX-1, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 10 parts Diisocyanate (Coronate L, manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Company) 5 parts Solvent: Toluene 95 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 95 parts [Dye supply layer] Polyvinyl butyral BX-17 Part Polyethylene oxide resin (R-400, manufactured by Meisei Chemical Co., Ltd.) 3 parts Diisocyanate Coronate L 3 parts Heat transfer dye MS Cyan VP (Mitsui Toatsu Dye Co., Ltd.) 30 parts Solvent Ethyl alcohol 170 parts Butyl alcohol 20 parts [Dye transfer Contribution layer] Polyvinyl butyral (BX-1) 10 parts Diisocyanate (Coronate L) 3 parts Heat transfer dye MS Cyan VP 20 parts Solvent Toluene 57 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 57 parts Dioxane 76 parts [Low dyeing resin layer] Styrene-maleic acid Copolymerization (Suprapearl AP30, manufactured by BASF) 5 parts G liquid (hydrolysis product of silane coupling agent) 12 parts Sublimation dye MS Cyan VP 5 parts Solvent tetrahydrofuran 20 parts (Synthesis of hydrolysis product of silane coupling agent) Dimethylmethoxysilane 15 g, methyltrimethoxysilane 9
g was dissolved in a mixed solution of 12 g of toluene and 12 g of methyl ethyl ketone, 13 ml of 3% sulfuric acid was added, and hydrolysis was carried out for 3 hours. This liquid is referred to as liquid G.

A mixture having the following composition was thoroughly mixed and dispersed to prepare a coating liquid for dye receiving layer. Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-vinyl alcohol copolymer (VAGH, Union Carbide Co., Ltd.) 10 parts Diisocyanate (Coronate L, Nippon Polyurethane Co., Ltd.) 5 parts Solvent Toluene 40 parts Methylethylketone 40 parts Thickness of this liquid using a wire bar After coating on a synthetic paper of about 150 μm (Yupo FPG-150, manufactured by Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Co., Ltd.) and drying at a drying temperature of 75 ° C. for 1 minute to form a dye receiving layer having a thickness of about 5 μm, further 60 An image receiving sheet was prepared by storing at 24 ° C. for 24 hours and curing.

Application and removal of the lubricant were carried out in the same manner as in Example 1. Thermal head resolution 12 dots / mm Applied energy 0.64 mj / dot Applied power 0.16 W / dot The feed speed during recording Image receiving sheet 8.4 mm / sec Thermal transfer sheet 0.8 mm / sec The printing was performed by the speed difference mode method recording. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Example 3 Recording was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the release agent was applied to the image receiving sheet in Example 1. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Example 4 Recording was carried out in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the lubricant was applied to the image receiving sheet in Example 2. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Example 5 Recording was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that an unmodified silicone oil (KF96 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.) was applied as a release agent to the image-receiving sheet.
The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Example 6 Recording was carried out in the same manner as in Example 2 except that an amino-modified silicone oil (SF8417, manufactured by Toray Dow Corning) was applied to the image-receiving sheet as a lubricant. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Example 7 Recording was carried out in the same manner as in Example 6 except that the felt material was used as the lubricant removing material in Example 6. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Example 8 Recording was carried out in the same manner as in Example 6 except that the cassette-integrated type having the lubricant application / removal material as shown in FIG. 1 was used in Example 6. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Comparative Example 1 Recording was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the step of applying and removing the release agent was omitted. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

Comparative Example 2 In Example 1, 3 parts of a release agent amino-modified silicone oil (SF8417, manufactured by Toray Dow Corning) was added to the dye transfer layer of the thermal transfer sheet, and the release agent application and removal steps were carried out. Recording was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the information was deleted and recorded. The evaluation results are summarized in Table 1.

[0042]

[Table 1] (Note) In the storability test, the thermal transfer sheet before recording and the image after recording are stored in a constant temperature bath at 60 ° C for 300 hours, the thermal transfer sheet is evaluated from the recorded image, and the image after recording is a visual image. Evaluated from bleeding. From the test results,
In Examples 1 to 4, it was necessary to frequently supply the release agent and the lubricant, and in Examples 5 to 7, although the frequency was reduced, it was necessary to supply them. In (1), if the initial set amount was specified, it was not necessary to supply the cassette until it was replaced.

[0043]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image receiving sheet or the heat transfer sheet is provided with a step of applying a release agent between the image receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet before and after recording and at least a step of removing the release agent from the image receiving sheet. Since the sheet itself does not need to contain a release agent, there is no fusion between the image-receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet, and there is no side effect of storage stability reduction due to the inclusion of a release agent. A heat transfer sheet and an image receiving sheet having good image storability can be obtained. According to the invention of claim 2, particularly in the speed difference mode method in which friction between the image receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet is also taken into consideration and fusion is likely to occur, the image receiving sheet or the thermal transfer sheet itself contains a release agent or a lubricant. Because there is no need
Since there is no fusion of the image-receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet and there is no side effect of deterioration of storage stability due to the inclusion of a release agent, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer sheet having good storage stability and an image receiving sheet having good image storage stability. . According to the invention of claim 3, since the thermal transfer sheet cassette has at least a release agent or lubricant applying or removing member, it is possible to replace the worn release agent or lubricant applying or removing member at the same time as the cassette is detached and attached. In addition, the management of the degree of fatigue of the member to which the release agent or the lubricant is added or removed can be managed from the number of recordings, which is the root cause.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining how to apply or remove a release agent / lubricant in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining how to apply or remove a release agent / lubricant in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining how to apply or remove a release agent / lubricant in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining how to apply or remove a release agent / lubricant in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a cassette according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 image signal 2 thermal head 3 thermal transfer sheet 4 image receiving sheet 5 platen roller 6 cassette 7a release agent applying member 7b release agent removing member 8a release agent or lubricant applying member 8b release agent or lubricant removing member 9 release agent or Lubricant 10 Porous material 11 Blade

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer recording method in which an image receiving sheet and a thermal transfer sheet are superposed in a thermal transfer device, and heat is applied from the back surface of the thermal transfer sheet to transfer a dye to the image receiving sheet, the image receiving sheet being applied before applying heat. A thermal transfer recording method comprising applying a release agent between a sheet and the thermal transfer sheet, and removing the release agent from the image receiving sheet after at least dye transfer. 2. An image receiving sheet and a thermal transfer sheet are superposed in a thermal transfer device, conveyed while the relative speed of the thermal transfer sheet with respect to the image receiving sheet is reduced, and heat is applied from the back surface of the thermal transfer sheet to the image receiving sheet. In the thermal transfer recording method of transferring a dye to a sheet, a releasing agent or a lubricant is applied between the image receiving sheet and the thermal transfer sheet before applying heat, and at least the releasing agent is transferred from the image receiving sheet after the dye transfer. Alternatively, a thermal transfer recording method characterized by removing a lubricant. 3. A cassette for a thermal transfer sheet in which a roll-shaped thermal transfer sheet is wound around an unwinding roll and the front end of which is fixed to a winding roll, wherein a releasing agent or a lubricant is applied to the unwinding side of the thermal transfer sheet. And a cassette for a thermal transfer sheet, characterized in that a member for removing the release agent or the lubricant is provided on the winding roll side.