JPH08108641A - Thermal transfer image receiving sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To arbitrarily alter a printing area and to facilitate the mounting of a thermal transfer image receiving sheet to a printer to avoid the wasting of the sheet by providing a lead sheet to the end edge part of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet wound up in a roll form in the outside longitudinal direction of the roll. CONSTITUTION: An image receiving sheet consisting of a colorant receiving layer and a base material is wound up in a roll form and a lead sheet is provided to the end edge part in the outside longitudinal direction of the roll. The leading end part of the lead sheet is cut into a width of 0-90% on the basis of the total width of the image receiving sheet and the length in the longitudinal direction of the cut leading end part 1 is set to 0.5-10 times the total width of the image receiving sheet. The length of the uncut part of the lead sheet continuing to the leading end part 1 is set to 1-10 times the length of the roll outermost periphery of the image receiving sheet. The cut part of the leading end part 1 facilitates the mounting work of the image receiving sheet to a printer and the uncut part has function protecting the image receiving sheet from the adhesion of waste refuse or the contact with a finger.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet which is superposed on a thermal transfer sheet to obtain an image by thermally transferring a coloring material using a thermal head as a device. More specifically, a sublimation dye is mainly used as the coloring material. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer image receiving sheet which is used in the above-mentioned thermal transfer system and forms a full-color, high-density recorded image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, among various thermal transfer recording systems, an image is obtained by using a sublimation dye as a coloring material and transferring it to an image receiving sheet by using a thermal head which generates heat in response to a recording signal. A sublimation transfer recording method is known. This recording method uses a dye as a coloring material and is capable of expressing density gradation, so the image is extremely clear and excellent in halftone color reproducibility and gradation reproducibility. It is possible to form an image with a quality comparable to Further, since a dye is used as a coloring material, an image with excellent transparency can be obtained. With the excellent performance mentioned above, along with the development of various hardware and software related to multimedia,
The sublimation transfer recording system has rapidly expanded its market as a full-color hard copy system for analog images such as computer graphics, still images by sanitary communication, digital images represented by CDROM and others, and video. ing.

The sublimation transfer recording type image receiving paper has various specific applications. As a typical one,
Proof of printing, image output, design / design output such as CAD / CAM, various medical analyzers such as CT scan, output of measuring instruments, and as an alternative to instant photography, as well as an identification card, ID card,
Output of face pictures to credit cards and other cards,
Furthermore, composite photographs at amusement facilities such as amusement parks, museums and aquariums, and use as commemorative photographs can be mentioned. Further, it is also used for OHP and the like as an image output medium for presentation.

As a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet for sublimation transfer (hereinafter referred to as an image-receiving sheet), which is used for various purposes as described above, one having a color material-receiving layer formed on a substrate is usually used. There is. It goes without saying that the image receiving sheet is required to have printing performance such as high printing sensitivity, fine printing quality and high gradation reproducibility. However, as the market expands due to the diversification of applications as described above, there are increasing demands for an increased degree of freedom in the printing area, a lower price of the image receiving sheet, and easy handling of the image receiving sheet.

[0005]

Since most of the conventional image receiving sheets are sheet-type sheets, the selection of the printing area is limited by the size of the sheet. Further, in supplying the image receiving sheet to the printer, it was necessary for a person to manually set the image receiving sheet. This raises the possibility that dust and foreign matter may adhere to the front and back of the sheet and that fingers may come into contact with the image receiving surface, resulting in a decrease in performance. Conventionally,
As measures against this, measures such as attaching a protective sheet were taken. This is because a protective sheet made of a synthetic resin sheet or the like is placed on top of, below, or both of the image receiving sheets, which are stacked in units of several tens, and then packaged. There was a method of removing the protective sheet before printing. However, even with this method, there is a problem in that the user forgets to remove the protective sheet.

With respect to the above problems, some of the above problems can be solved by changing the form of the image receiving sheet to a roll type. That is, the degree of freedom of the printing area in the flow direction of the roll increases. Further, even when the image receiving sheet is attached to a printer, unlike the sheet type, the chances of dust and foreign matter adhering to the front and back of the image receiving sheet are reduced. Moreover, it is possible to avoid forgetting to remove the protective sheet. However, when it is made into a roll shape, when the image receiving sheet is attached to the printer,
It is necessary to pass through a transport system consisting of a platen roll, multiple transport rolls, guide rolls, etc. However, in general, the inside of the printer is designed extremely precisely, there is not enough space, and the work of passing the image receiving sheet through the printer is a work that puts a heavy load on the operator. Also,
During this work, the leading edge of the image receiving sheet was broken or wrinkled, and moreover, the image receiving sheet of the length of the printer transport system became unusable and wasted because the fingers touched the image receiving surface. There were times when it ended up.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet capable of arbitrarily changing the printing screen area, which can be easily mounted on a printer, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet that is not wasted.

[0008]

The above object can be achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention is an image-receiving sheet comprising at least a coloring material-receiving layer and a substrate, and the image-receiving sheet has a rolled-up form and is formed on the outer longitudinal edge of the roll. It is provided with a lead sheet. The leading end portion of the lead sheet is 0 to 90, based on the entire width of the image receiving sheet.
%, And the length of the cut tip portion in the longitudinal direction is 0.5 times or more of the entire width of the image receiving sheet.
The shape is not more than double. In addition, the length of the uncut portion of the lead sheet following the leading edge portion is 1 time or more the length of the outermost periphery of the roll of the image receiving sheet, 10 or more.
Further, the lead sheet is preferably made of a transparent material and has a thickness of 20 μm or more and 200 μm or less. If necessary, the surface of the lead sheet can also display information about the image receiving sheet and printers using the image receiving sheet.

[Preferred Embodiment] The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments. The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention can be effectively used not only in the sublimation transfer system but also in the thermal fusion transfer system, and is composed of at least a color material receiving layer and a base material.

(Regarding Coloring Material Receiving Layer) The coloring material receiving layer is formed by adding various additives such as a release agent to the varnish whose main component is a resin which easily dyes the coloring material. Examples of the resin that is easily dyed include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, halogenated resins such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride, vinyl-based resins such as polyvinyl acetate and polyacrylic acid ester and copolymers thereof, and polyethylene terephthalate. Polyester resins such as polybutylene terephthalate, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, copolymers of olefins such as ethylene and propylene with other vinyl monomers, ionomers, and cellulose derivatives. These may be used alone or as a mixture. Among these, polyester resins and vinyl resins or copolymers thereof are preferable.

A releasing agent may be added to the color material receiving layer in order to prevent heat fusion with the heat transfer sheet during image formation in the sublimation transfer system. As the release agent, silicone oil, phosphoric acid ester-based plasticizer, and fluorine-based compound can be used. Among them, silicone oil is preferably used. The amount of the release agent added is 10
0.2 to 30 parts by weight is preferable with respect to 0 parts by weight. In addition, a fluorescent whitening agent and other additives may be further added to the colorant receiving layer, if necessary. The coloring material receiving layer can be applied to the substrate by a conventionally known method such as roll coating, bar coating, gravure coating, and gravure revers coating. And the application amount is 0.5 to 10 g / m.
² (solid content) is preferred. In addition, an intermediate layer for improving adhesiveness, whiteness and the like may be provided between the colorant receiving layer and the base material, if necessary.

(Substrate) The substrate used in the present invention is
Although it may be a single layer such as various kinds of paper and plastic film, it is preferable that at least a plastic layer having microvoids and a support layer are laminated. As the plastic layer having microvoids, a plastic film having microvoids inside or a synthetic paper may be used, or a plastic layer having microvoids may be formed on various supports described below by various coating methods. good. As a plastic film or synthetic paper having microvoids, polyolefin, particularly polypropylene as a main component, is blended with an inorganic pigment or polypropylene and an incompatible polymer, these are used as a foaming initiator, and this compound is formed into a film and stretched. Preferred are plastic films or synthetic papers. When these are mainly composed of polyester, etc., because of their viscoelastic or thermal properties, the cushioning property and the heat insulating property are inferior as compared with those mainly composed of polypropylene, so that the printing sensitivity is inferior, and Density unevenness is likely to occur.

The above-mentioned plastic film and synthetic paper are
As such, it may be a single layer containing microvoids, or may be composed of a plurality of layers. In the case of a multi-layered structure, all the constituent layers may contain microvoids, or a layer without microvoids may exist. If necessary, a white pigment may be contained in the plastic film or the synthetic paper as a masking agent. Further, in order to increase the whiteness, an additive such as a fluorescent whitening agent can be added. Further, a skin layer (a thin layer of a clear resin) may be further provided on the surface in order to give gloss and smoothness. Such a plastic film or synthetic paper preferably has a thickness of 30 to 80 μm.

The layer containing microvoids can be formed on the support by a coating method. For example, a synthetic resin is blended with a foaming agent such as a microcapsule. Then, it can be applied and heated to form microvoids. As the synthetic resin to be used, known resins such as polyester resin, urethane resin, polycarbonate, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

It is also possible to use the above-mentioned plastic film or synthetic paper having microvoids, on which a colorant receiving layer is formed, as it is as an image receiving sheet. However, in this structure, so-called printing curl may occur due to heat of the thermal head during printing. In such a case, printing curl can be prevented by laminating the above-mentioned layer having microvoids with the support. Examples of such a support include coated paper, art paper, glassine paper, high-quality paper, cast coated paper and other papers mainly composed of cellulose fibers, and biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate film (hereinafter A PET film), a foamed PET film, a white PET film, an acrylic resin film and the like can be used. The support is
It is laminated on the surface of the plastic layer containing microvoids described above opposite to the side on which the colorant receiving layer is formed. The lamination method includes dry lamination and wet lamination.
It is possible to use a known method such as coating, melt extrusion lamination, and heat sealing.

Further, in order to further improve the printing curl resistance, a scaling preventing layer may be provided on the surface of the support opposite to the side on which the color material receiving layer is formed. As the curl prevention layer, a polyolefin resin layer is preferable.
Further, the same plastic film as that laminated on the color material receiving layer side or synthetic paper may be laminated. The thickness of the support is most preferably about 50 to 120 μm in consideration of the rigidity of the image receiving sheet and the transportability of the printer. Further, the curl prevention layer is preferably about 25 to 60 μm. The total thickness of the image receiving sheet is 100
It is preferably about 250 μm.

(Form of Image Receiving Sheet) As a form of the image receiving sheet having the above-mentioned basic structure, a roll form is preferable. In the case of a single-wafer type image receiving sheet as in the past,
The printing area is limited to the length in the longitudinal direction. on the other hand,
The roll type practically eliminates the limitation of the length in the longitudinal direction. That is, it is possible to print a panorama type image.

(Lead Sheet) In the present invention, the lead sheet is provided at the outermost edge of the image-receiving sheet formed in a roll shape. The lead sheet may be coated paper, art paper, glassine paper, high-quality paper, cast coated paper or other paper mainly composed of cellulose fiber, polypropylene film, polyethylene film, PET film, foamed PET. Film, expanded polystyrene film,
A foamed polyethylene film, a white PET film, an acrylic resin film or the like can be used. Above all, when considering environmental stability such as heat and humidity, P
Most preferred is ET film.

A transparent material such as the above-mentioned plastic film or glassine paper is preferable in that the state of the image receiving sheet inside can be observed. However, it is also effective to color and conceal the image-receiving sheet with various coloring materials and ultraviolet absorbers for the purpose of protecting the image-receiving sheet from sunlight and the like, and any of them can be usefully applied depending on the purpose. Further, the lead sheet may display various information such as an image receiving sheet, how to handle the printer, countermeasures when trouble occurs, contact information, and the like. As a display method, offset printing, gravure printing, or other printing may be used, or a sticker or the like on which the above information is described may be attached. Furthermore, it is possible to print or color various patterns for the purpose of detection in the vicinity of the joint between the lead sheet and the image receiving sheet. Further, for the purpose of cleaning the printing thermal head, the platen roll, and the other transport system, fine unevenness may be provided on the surface of the lead sheet.

In the lead sheet of the present invention, the cut portion of the leading end facilitates the work of mounting it on the printer, and the uncut portion protects the image receiving sheet from dust and contact with fingers. It has a function.
Therefore, the size of the lead sheet is determined in consideration of this point. The thickness of the lead sheet is preferably about the same as that of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet, but the specific thickness is preferably 20 μm or more and 200 μm or less. Depending on the material of the lead sheet, if the thickness is 20 μm or less, the rigidity is too low to hinder the mounting on the printer, and the required protection function of the image receiving sheet is not sufficiently exhibited. If it exceeds 200 μm, on the contrary, the rigidity is too high, which makes the handling inconvenient. In general, the transport system of the printer is designed in consideration of the thickness, rigidity, friction coefficient, etc. of the image receiving sheet, so that it is not preferable that the physical properties of the lead sheet be far from the physical properties of the image receiving sheet.

The width of the leading end portion of the lead sheet is preferably narrowly cut to a range of 0 to 90% with respect to the entire width of the image receiving sheet. There is no particular problem if the width is narrow, but 90
If it is wider than%, the effect of cutting is poor. The length of the cut leading end of the lead sheet in the longitudinal direction is preferably 0.5 times or more and 10 times or less of the total width of the image receiving sheet. If it is 0.5 times or less, the effect of facilitating mounting on the printer becomes insufficient. Further, if it is 10 times or more, not only the above effect is not further improved, but it is also uneconomical. The length of the uncut portion of the lead sheet is
It is preferable that the length of the outermost periphery of the image receiving sheet is 1 to 10 times. If it is less than 1 time, the entire circumference of the image receiving sheet cannot be covered, so that the image receiving sheet cannot be sufficiently protected. 10
If it is more than twice, it is uneconomical and it is not preferable because it takes time to find the initial cue. In addition, (A) to (E) of FIG.
Shows a specific example of a shape in which the leading end portion of the lead sheet is cut and narrowed, and is a preferable shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Further, FIG. 1F shows a shape in which the leading end portion of the lead sheet is not cut.

[0022]

As described above, the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention is a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet comprising at least a coloring material receiving layer and a substrate, and the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet has a rolled-up form. A lead sheet is provided on the outer longitudinal edge of the roll. By providing a lead sheet, it is possible to avoid stains and damages on the image receiving sheet when the image receiving sheet is handled or mounted on the printer. Furthermore, by forming the leading end portion of the lead sheet to be narrower than the entire width of the image receiving sheet, the image receiving sheet printer Easy to install.

[0023]

【Example】

(Creation of image receiving sheet) Coated paper 127.9 as a support
g / m ² [manufactured by New Top Shinji Paper Co., Ltd.], a biaxially oriented polypropylene film having a thickness of 35 μm [Toyopearl SS P4255 Toyobo Co., Ltd.] as a plastic layer having microvoids on both sides thereof.
Was manufactured by a dry lamination method to prepare a base material for an image receiving sheet. Subsequently, one surface of the above-mentioned substrate was coated with a coating solution for a receiving layer having the following composition by a gravure reverse coating method so that the coating amount when dried was 4.0 g / m ^2, and dried to receive a color material. The layers were formed to prepare an image receiving sheet body.

Composition of Receptor Layer Coating Liquid Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer [# 1000A, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.] 7.2 parts by weight Styrene-acryl copolymer [# 400A, Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.] Made by: 1.6 parts by weight Polyester [Vylon 600, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.] 11.2 parts by weight Vinyl-modified silicone [X-621212, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.] 2.0 parts by weight Methyl ethyl ketone 39 parts by weight Part Toluene 39 parts by weight

The image-receiving sheet obtained as described above was used,
Using a paper tube with a thickness of 7 mm as a core, and slitting the image receiving surface outward with a width of 220 mm, the outermost peripheral length is 360 m.
An image-receiving sheet roll was prepared by winding it up so as to be m. The lead sheets having the specifications shown in Table 1 were attached to the outer edge portions of the image receiving sheet roll using an adhesive tape to prepare thermal transfer image receiving sheet rolls of Examples 1 to 11. Further, Comparative Example 1 was an image receiving sheet roll to which a lead sheet was not attached.

[0026]

[Table 1] Lead sheet specifications (Note) * ¹ : See AF in Fig. 1. * ² : PET film S10 and P60 are manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. * ³ : White PET film is a dial foil W-400 manufactured by Mitsubishi Plastics.

(Evaluation and Results) Using the image-receiving sheet rolls of Examples 1 to 11 and Comparative Example 1 obtained as described above as samples, the following three items were evaluated, and the results are shown in Table 2. . 1) Presence or absence of damage due to scratches, rubbing, etc. on the image receiving sheet itself when the printer is installed, and loss due to stain. (Evaluation Criteria) ◎: No damage or stains such as scratches and rubbing ○: Slight scratches, etc., but no hindrance to printing performance ×: Damage or stains such as scratches, rubbing, etc. that impair printing performance Items 2) Ease of mounting operation on printer Each image receiving sheet roll was mounted on a roll image receiving sheet supply type printer, and the ease of operation was examined. (Evaluation Criteria) ○: Easy to attach △: Somewhat difficult to attach ×: Difficult to attach 3) The length of the contact area between the fingers of the image receiving sheet and the contaminated part due to the transport system during handling and when the printer is attached It is. (Cm
Displayed in ()

[0028]

[Table 2] Evaluation results

As is clear from the evaluation results shown in Table 2, the image-receiving sheet rolls of Examples 1 to 7 are excellent in all items and excellent in suitability for use, and are damaged during handling, mounting on a printer or the like. There was no loss of the image-receiving sheet due to stains and stains, which was particularly preferable. In addition, Example 8
The image-receiving sheet rolls No. 11 to No. 11 are not suitable in terms of the shape, length, width of the equal width portion, thickness of the lead sheet itself, etc. of the leading end of the lead sheet, and there are some aspects that are not suitable for use. However, the image receiving sheet itself was good with no loss. On the other hand, the image-receiving sheet roll of Comparative Example 1 is not preferable because the image-receiving sheet roll is not easily mounted on the printer, and the image-receiving sheet itself is lost due to damage or stain during handling or mounting. It was

[0030]

As described in detail above, the present invention has the following advantages.
This is a configuration in which the thermal transfer image receiving sheet is rolled up and a lead sheet is provided on the outer edge portion thereof. Then, the leading end portion of the lead sheet is cut into a narrow shape, and the length of the leading end portion, the length of the uncut equal width portion following the leading end portion, and the thickness of the lead sheet, etc. are within the ranges described above. It is preferable to set. By adopting such a configuration, there is no restriction on the print size in the flow direction, and the image receiving sheet itself can be easily attached to the printer, and the loss due to damage or stain on the image receiving sheet during handling, attachment to the printer, etc. It is possible to provide a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet that does not generate any heat.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a shape of a leading end portion of a lead sheet provided on an outer peripheral edge portion of a roll of a thermal transfer image receiving sheet of the present invention and a portion in the vicinity thereof. In addition, in FIG.
(A) to (E) show an example of a shape in which the leading end portion of the lead sheet is cut so as to be narrowed to a width of 0 to 90% based on the entire width of the image receiving sheet, and (F) shows the shape of the lead sheet. It shows a shape in which the tip is not narrowly cut.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tip part 2 equal width part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Koichi Shirai 1-1-1, Ichigaya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Within Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshinori Kamikubo 1-chome, Ichigaya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1 in Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet comprising at least a coloring material receiving layer and a substrate, wherein the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet is in the form of a rolled-up roll, and a lead sheet is provided at the outer longitudinal edge of the roll. A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet characterized in that 2. The thermal transfer image receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the leading end portion of the lead sheet is cut to have a width of 0 to 90% based on the entire width of the image receiving sheet. 3. The thermal transfer according to claim 2, wherein the length in the longitudinal direction of the cut leading end portion of the lead sheet is 0.5 times or more and 10 times or less of the total width of the image receiving sheet. Image receiving sheet. 4. The length of the uncut portion of the lead sheet is at least 1 time the outermost circumference of the image receiving sheet roll, and 1
The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet is 0 times or less. 5. The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the lead sheet has transparency. 6. The thermal transfer image receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the lead sheet displays information about the thermal transfer image receiving sheet and general printers using the thermal transfer image receiving sheet. 7. The thermal transfer image receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the lead sheet has a thickness of 20 μm or more and 200 μm or less.