JPH08207451A - Pattern printing system for prepaid card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a pattern printing system for maintaining inexpensively the confidentiality of a written information. CONSTITUTION: Black color is developed on a visible ray area of a heat-sensitive layer 5 by heating a recording medium having the heat-sensitive layer 5 laminated on a card base 1 printed in black color of a small refrectance on the whole of the visible ray area, and a recoring pattern, having different reflectance to electromagnetic waves of a given wave length in the areas other than the visible ray area between the surface of the card base 1 printed in black color and the heat-sensitive layer 5 colored in black, is formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pattern printing method for a prepaid card which makes it difficult to visually recognize a pattern printed on the prepaid card and keeps confidentiality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, prepaid cards have come into widespread use. Information printed with normal ink on the surface of these prepaid cards is displayed by graphic codes or numbers and can be easily visually recognized. For this reason, the information printed on the surface of the prepaid card may be easily modified, and it is required to maintain confidentiality. In order to secure such confidentiality, the ink used for printing should be magnetic ink or magnetic information should be written on a magnetic card so that the written information can be easily read by visual inspection. A pattern printing method is used to prevent this.

[0003]

Since the conventional pattern printing method is constructed in this way, an expensive writing device for magnetically writing information on the magnetic card is required. The pattern printing method described above has a problem that the written information is easily magnetically damaged and the written information is easily magnetically damaged.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pattern printing method which can maintain the confidentiality of written information at low cost.

[0005]

A pattern printing method for a prepaid card according to the present invention is a recording having a thermal paper layer laminated on a card substrate which is entirely printed in black with low reflectance in the visible light region. By applying heat to the medium, the thermal paper layer is colored in black with a low reflectance in the visible light region, and the visible light region is between the card substrate surface printed in black and the thermal paper layer colored in black. It is characterized in that a recording pattern having different reflectances is formed for electromagnetic waves of other predetermined wavelengths. Further, the electromagnetic wave having the predetermined wavelength is infrared rays.

[0006]

In the pattern printing method of the prepaid card according to the present invention, the thermal paper layer laminated on the card base printed in solid black is colored, and the solid black printed and the black of thermal coloring are almost the same in the visible region. Although the reflectance is too small to be distinguished, it is impossible to discriminate, but at this time, the card substrate so as to cause a difference in reflectance with respect to electromagnetic waves of a predetermined wavelength between the solid black card substrate surface and the colored thermosensitive layer. By adjusting the components of the printing ink and the ink of the thermal paper layer beforehand and irradiating the electromagnetic wave of the predetermined wavelength, it becomes possible to recognize the recording pattern printed on the base due to the difference in the reflectance. Further, the electromagnetic waves are infrared rays, and the light rays are applied to the respective black colors, and the print pattern is recognized based on the difference in reflectance.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a recording medium that realizes the pattern printing method of the prepaid card of this embodiment. This recording medium is configured as a prepaid card. In the figure, 1 is a card base material, and here the card base material 1 may be paper or plastic. 2 and 3 are transparent protective films, 4 is a printed surface printed in solid black, and 5 is a thermal paper layer. The heat-sensitive paper layer 5 is transparent when no color is developed, and the solid black printing surface 4 of the lower layer makes it appear solid black in visible light.

FIG. 2 shows recording code information formed on the surface of the prepaid card when heat is applied to the surface of the prepaid card in a predetermined pattern and the heat-sensitive paper layer 5 is colored black at this time.

FIG. 3 shows the difference in reflectance between the surface of the card substrate 1 printed in solid black and the color-developed thermal paper layer 5, which is an upper layer, when an electromagnetic wave from the infrared region to the visible region is irradiated. It is a reflection characteristic shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, the reflection characteristics of the surface of the card substrate 1 printed in solid black are visible light region, that is, the reflectance is small and it looks solid black. The reflectance increases as the wavelength shifts to the infrared region, and the reflectance with respect to infrared rays has the same reflectance as white with respect to visible light.

On the other hand, the reflection characteristic of the colored thermal paper layer 5 is as follows.
In the visible light region, that is, visually, the reflectance is small and looks black like the surface of the card substrate 1. Although the reflectance increases as the wavelength shifts to the infrared region, the reflectance with respect to infrared rays has a small reflectance almost equal to that of black with respect to visible light. Here, since the thermal paper layer 5 of the prepaid card shown in FIG. 1 is thin and has high transparency to light, the thermal paper layer 5 looks solid black even if it is not thermally recorded. Further, even if the thermal paper layer 5 is recorded by the thermal head, it looks like solid black by visual observation, and the recording code state cannot be identified.

Here, for example, a near-infrared ray infrared emitter and its near-infrared ray detection sensor are used, and the difference in reflectance when the near-infrared ray is irradiated is detected by the near-infrared ray detection sensor, so that FIG. As shown in the drawing, the pattern 6 formed by the colored thermal paper layer 5 can be identified with respect to the card substrate 1, and the pattern 6 can be recognized. That is, in FIG. 2, the pattern 6 has a low reflectance, and the near-infrared detection sensor turns black,
The area other than the pattern 6 has a high reflectance and is white in the near infrared ray detection sensor. Further, such a writing device and a reading device using near infrared rays can be constructed at low cost.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pattern is printed based on the difference in reflectance with respect to an electromagnetic wave of a predetermined wavelength between the surface of a card substrate printed in solid black and the heat-sensitive layer that has developed color. By using an electromagnetic wave having a predetermined wavelength that is deviated from the visible light region, the pattern can be recognized using the electromagnetic wave having the predetermined wavelength as a medium, which is not visually recognizable, and the confidentiality can be maintained at low cost. Further, if the electromagnetic wave of a predetermined wavelength is infrared rays, a sensor that can easily recognize the pattern at low cost can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a recording medium that realizes a pattern printing method for a prepaid card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a code formed on the surface of the prepaid card by applying heat to the surface of the prepaid card in a predetermined pattern in the pattern printing method for the prepaid card according to the embodiment of the present invention, and at this time, the heat-sensitive layer is colored. It is explanatory drawing which shows information.

FIG. 3 is a reflection characteristic showing a difference in reflectance between the base surface printed in solid black and the colored heat-sensitive layer when an electromagnetic wave from a near infrared region to a visible region is irradiated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Card substrate 5 Thermal layer

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Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heat-sensitive paper layer is provided in the visible light region by applying heat to a recording medium having a heat-sensitive paper layer laminated on a card substrate which is entirely printed in black with low reflectance in the visible light region. A recording pattern in which the reflectance is different for electromagnetic waves of a predetermined wavelength other than the visible light region between the card substrate surface printed in black and the thermal paper layer colored in black, which is colored in black with low reflectance. A pattern printing method for a prepaid card, characterized by forming a pattern. 2. The pattern printing method for a prepaid card according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave having the predetermined wavelength is infrared rays.