JPH08332777A - Thermal transfer recording material, thermal transfer recording medium using the same, manufacture of the same medium, method and apparatus for reproducing the medium and recording and reproducing method and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To be able to use a plurality of times by a simple configuration by incorporating at least one of photopolymerizable monomer and photopolymerizable polymer and colorant in a thermal transfer recording medium becoming disposable by one use. CONSTITUTION: The thermal transfer recording medium 1 is formed by laminating an ink layer 1b containing ultraviolet curable resin including photopolymerizable prepolymer, photopolymerizable monomer and photoinitiator as main bodies as main ingredient (A). At the time of reproducing, the medium 1 is entirely coated with coating ink 2 by including an ink defect part 1c (B), emitted with ultraviolet rays at the back surface side, i.e., at a base material 1a side to cure the ink 2 coated in the part 1c (C), and the excess ink 2 coating except the part 1c is removed (D). Particularly, in the case of reproducing to finely print, the annealing step (E) of varnishing the boundary 3 between the reproduced ink layer 1a and the remaining layer 1b by melting the ink is added.

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 medium, which is a recording medium in a reproducing / recording apparatus used as an output terminal device of an information processing apparatus such as a word processor and a facsimile, and more particularly to a used thermal transfer recording medium. Recording material for thermal transfer for enabling multiple uses by reproducing the medium, thermal transfer recording medium using the same, method for producing thermal transfer recording medium, reproducing method and reproducing apparatus for thermal transfer recording medium, and reproducing recording The present invention relates to a method and a reproducing / recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, various printers are used as output terminal devices for information processing apparatuses such as word processors, facsimiles, computers, etc., and their recording methods are thermal transfer method, electrophotographic method, ink jet method, wire dot method. Various methods have been proposed.

Among these, its quietness, low cost,
From the standpoints of miniaturization adaptability, easy operability, and high reliability, a thermal transfer method using a heating resistance element array called a thermal head has been widely used, and in recent years, its application has changed from commercial to home. It is expanding to youth and even hobby.

This thermal transfer system uses a thermal fusion transfer system in which ink of a thermal transfer recording medium is melted by heat of a thermal head and transferred to a recording paper made of plain paper, and a thermal paper which develops color by heat above a set temperature. This heat-sensitive paper can be roughly classified into two types, a sublimation heat transfer method that develops color by the heat of a thermal head, but the melt heat transfer recording method is the mainstream in terms of price.

FIG. 9 shows the basic principle of the above-mentioned fusion type thermal transfer system and the basic construction of a thermal transfer recording medium used in this fusion type thermal transfer system. As shown in FIG. The thermal transfer recording medium 1, which is also called an ink sheet, has a structure in which an ink layer 1b is laminated on a base material 1a.

A polymer resin film having a film thickness of 1 to 12 μm is usually used as the base material 1a of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, and the material of the base material 1a is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate. General-purpose resins such as phthalate (PEN), polyimide (PI), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and aramid are used.

Further, on the back surface of the base material 1a, the abrasion of the thermal head due to the sliding contact is reduced, the running of the ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium is stabilized, and the fusion of the ink ribbon with the ink surface during winding is prevented. In general, the lubricating layer 1e is applied for the purpose of

The ink layer 1b of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is
The main component is a heat-melting resin with good adhesion between heat-melting substances such as low-melting wax and recording paper, and a small amount of various pigments and various plasticizers, dispersants, antioxidants, etc. are added as colorants. It is composed of This ink layer 1b
Examples of the low melting point wax used include carnauba wax, candelilla wax, rice wax, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, polyethylene wax, and the like, and these are used alone or as a mixture.

As the heat-meltable resin used for the ink layer 1b, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-vinyl butyrate copolymers, ethylene-acrylic copolymers and other ethylene-based copolymers, and polylauryl are used. Examples thereof include poly (meth) acrylic acid esters such as methacrylate and polyhexyl acrylate, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, vinyl chloride-based copolymers such as vinyl chloride-vinyl alcohol copolymers. You can
These resins are used alone or as a mixture.

The thermal transfer recording medium 1 configured as described above is first brought into close contact with the recording paper 5 by pressing the thermal head 4 from the back surface side of the base material 1a, that is, the lubricating layer 1e side. Then, by heating the heating resistor element 4a in the portion corresponding to the desired recording, the ink in the portion facing the heating resistor element 4a which has generated heat is thermally melted or softened and transferred to the recording sheet, and transferred. The desired recording is obtained with the ink 6.

[0011]

However, in the thermal transfer recording medium of such a thermal transfer system, in principle, once the transfer recording is performed, the ink in the portion corresponding to the transferred image comes out and becomes defective. The thermal transfer recording medium once used for transfer recording must be discarded after one-time use, and there is a problem that the cost becomes remarkably high in view of the running cost required for printing.

As a means for solving such a problem, conventionally, a method of reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium that can be used a plurality of times or a thermal transfer recording medium that has been used once has been proposed.

For example, as the former thermal transfer recording medium (ink ribbon) which can be used plural times, a structure having a structure as shown in FIG. 10 has been proposed, and this ink ribbon is generally called a multi-time ribbon. , Has already been put to practical use.

The structure of this multi-time ribbon is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ink layer 1b, which is conventionally a single layer, is laminated and formed as a plurality of layers. When printing, the ink layers 1b are sequentially transferred from the upper layer to realize recording a plurality of times. FIG. 10 shows an ink layer 1b composed of two ink layers 1b1 and 1b2. When such an ink ribbon is used, the ink layer 1b1 is used for printing in the first printing operation, During the second printing operation, the remaining portion of the ink layer 1b1 that was not transferred in the first printing operation and the ink layer 1b2 are used for printing.

However, as shown in FIG. 10, the surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 after the first transfer has a step corresponding to the ink layer 1b1 between the part where the ink is transferred and the part where the ink is not transferred. Since the surface of the layer 1b becomes uneven, the adhesion between the paper 5 and the ink layer 1b of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 decreases during the second printing operation, and the print quality gradually deteriorates as the number of times of printing increases. However, it has not been a fundamental solution from the viewpoint of reducing the running cost while maintaining the print quality.

Further, since the maximum number of printable times is determined by the number of laminated layers of the ink layer 1b, there is a limit to the number of laminated layers which can be tolerated unless the above-mentioned measures against the uneven shape of the surface are taken. There is also a problem in that repeated use a large number of times is substantially difficult.

An example of the latter method of reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-286333.

That is, the ink layer side of the used thermal transfer recording medium is subjected to corona charging treatment to adhere the toner to the ink deficient portion where the ink of the ink layer has been desorbed by the transfer, and then the adhered toner is thermally treated. The thermal transfer recording medium is reusable so that it can be reused by melting and performing uniform planarization.

However, this reproducing method requires a high-voltage power source because it utilizes corona charging similar to that used in a normal electrophotographic apparatus, which leads to an increase in size of the apparatus and an inevitable increase in cost. was there.

Further, since the toner used for regenerating the ink layer is a powder, it is difficult to make the particle diameter uniform, and in addition, the charge amount of the toner has a large humidity dependency, so that There is also a problem that it is extremely difficult to control the adhesion amount.

Further, since the average particle diameter of the toner is about 10 μm, it is considered from a dimensional point of view to fill the ink defect portion of the ink layer of the order of several μm of the commonly used thermal transfer recording medium with high accuracy. However, there was a problem that it was difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and prints a thermal transfer recording medium, which was conventionally disposable after being used once, so that it can be used multiple times with a simple structure. There is provided a recording material for thermal transfer capable of significantly reducing running cost in the method and a thermal transfer recording medium using the same, and a manufacturing method of the thermal transfer recording medium, a reproducing method and reproducing apparatus of the thermal transfer recording medium, and a thermal transfer recording method, An object is to provide a recording device.

[0023]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the thermal transfer recording material according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
It is characterized by containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer recording material according to the first aspect, further containing at least one of a low melting point resin and a wax.

According to the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, a polymerization reaction is caused by irradiation of light to form a solid state.

The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 3 is coated with a thermal transfer recording material containing a substrate, a photopolymerizable monomer and / or a photopolymerizable polymer formed on the substrate, and a colorant. And an ink layer formed by solidifying by irradiating light.

A thermal transfer recording medium according to a fourth aspect is the thermal transfer recording medium according to the third aspect, wherein the ink layer further contains at least one of a low melting point resin and a wax.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a thermal transfer recording medium, in which a recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant is applied on a substrate, and then irradiated with light. By doing so, a polymerization reaction is caused in the recording material to form a solid ink layer.

The method of manufacturing a thermal transfer recording medium according to a sixth aspect is the method according to the fifth aspect, wherein the light is ultraviolet light.

According to the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention having the above-described structure and the method for manufacturing the same, a solid ink layer is formed by irradiating the recording material coated on the substrate with light.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium in which a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable monomer are added to an ink deficiency portion of a thermal transfer recording medium having a base material and an ink layer, which occurs after the recording operation. The thermal transfer recording is carried out by applying a recording material containing at least one of a polymer and a colorant, and then irradiating a portion coated with the recording material with light to cause a polymerization reaction of the recording material to form a solid state. It is characterized by making the medium reusable.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method of reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium according to the seventh aspect, wherein the light is ultraviolet light.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method of reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the irradiation of the light is performed from the side of the base material.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method of reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the irradiation of the light is performed from the ink layer side.

According to the reproducing method of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention having the above-mentioned constitution, the recording material is applied to the ink deficient portion generated after the recording operation, and then the ink deficient portion is applied by irradiating light. The recording material is solidified by the polymerization reaction, and the ink defect portion is repaired.

A reproducing apparatus for a thermal transfer recording medium according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention comprises a transfer means for transferring the thermal transfer recording medium,
It is characterized in that it has a recording material application means for applying a recording material to the ink defect portion of the thermal transfer recording medium and a light irradiation means for irradiating the recording material with light.

A thermal transfer recording medium reproducing apparatus according to a twelfth aspect is the reproducing apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, wherein the light irradiating means is arranged at a position facing the base material of the thermal transfer recording medium. .

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the reproducing apparatus for the thermal transfer recording medium in the eleventh aspect, wherein the light irradiating means is disposed at a position facing a surface of the thermal transfer recording medium opposite to the base material. It is characterized by that.

A thermal transfer recording medium reproducing apparatus according to a fourteenth aspect is the reproducing apparatus for a thermal transfer recording medium according to any one of the eleventh to thirteenth aspects, wherein an excessive portion of the recording material applied on the thermal transfer recording medium is removed. It is characterized by further having a cleaning means for removing.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing apparatus according to any one of the eleventh to thirteenth aspects, wherein the light irradiating means is an ultraviolet irradiator.

According to the reproducing apparatus of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention having the above-mentioned constitution, the recording material applying means applies the recording material to the ink defect portion of the thermal transfer recording medium transferred by the transferring means, and then this recording material. The recording material applied to the ink deficient portion is solidified by irradiating light with the light irradiating means, and the ink deficient portion is repaired. Further, an excessive portion of the recording material applied as needed is removed by a cleaning unit.

The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 16 is a thermal transfer recording medium having at least a substrate, a release layer and an ink layer, wherein the release layer is at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer. It is characterized in that it is formed by applying a recording material for thermal transfer containing Pt and irradiating it with light to solidify it.

The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 17 is a thermal transfer recording medium having at least a substrate, an ink layer and an overcoat layer, wherein the overcoat layer comprises at least a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer. It is characterized by being formed by applying a recording material for thermal transfer containing one of them and irradiating it with light to solidify it.

According to another thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention having the above-mentioned constitution, a solid release layer or overcoat layer is formed by irradiating the recording material coated on the substrate with light.

In the reproducing / recording method according to the eighteenth aspect, desired recording is performed by transferring the ink on the thermal transfer recording medium onto the paper by the thermal energy of the heating means, and then the recording operation is performed to record the thermal transfer recording medium. A recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant is applied to the resulting ink defect portion and irradiated with light to cause a polymerization reaction of the recording material to form a solid state. It is characterized in that the thermal transfer recording medium is reproduced and the reproduced thermal transfer recording medium is used again for recording.

According to the reproducing / recording method of the present invention having the above-described structure, the recording material is applied to the ink defect portion of the thermal transfer recording medium after the ink is transferred onto the paper by the thermal energy of the thermal head, and the light is emitted. By irradiating, the ink defect portion is repaired, and this thermal transfer recording medium is used for recording again.

A reproducing / recording apparatus according to a nineteenth aspect is a reproducing / recording apparatus having at least a heating means, a paper feeding mechanism, an electric control mechanism and a thermal transfer recording medium, wherein the thermal transfer recording medium is a base material and a base material. Characterized by having an ink layer formed by coating a thermal transfer recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer formed on a material and a colorant, and irradiating light to solidify the material. There is.

According to the reproducing / recording apparatus of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the ink of the ink layer which is applied on the base material and becomes solid by irradiation with light is transferred onto the paper by the thermal energy of the heating means. To be done.

A reproducing / recording apparatus according to a twentieth aspect is the reproducing / recording apparatus according to the nineteenth aspect, further comprising a reproducing mechanism for reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium after being used for a recording operation in a reusable state. I am trying.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided the reproducing / recording apparatus according to the nineteenth or twentieth aspect, wherein the base material is formed in an endless shape.

According to another reproducing / recording apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure, the thermal transfer recording medium once used for the recording operation by the heat energy of the heating means is reproduced in a reusable state and then re-recorded. used.

[0052]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, one embodiment of a thermal transfer recording material of the present invention and a thermal transfer recording medium using the same will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the thermal transfer recording medium 1 of the present invention has a structure in which an ink layer 1b made of a thermal transfer recording material is laminated on a substrate 1a. The recording material for thermal transfer that constitutes the main component is a UV curable resin that is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays as light, and contains an ultraviolet absorber, a colorant, and other minor additives in an amount of about 0 to 10% if necessary. It is considered to be a blended composition.

The UV-curable resin is mainly composed of three components of a photopolymerizable prepolymer, a photopolymerizable monomer and a photoinitiator, and the photopolymerizable prepolymer in this is usually 0 to 99 weight. It is an important component that is added in the range of parts and forms the skeleton of the resin.

This photopolymerizable polymer is a polymer which is further polymerized by a photochemical action, and is sometimes called a photopolymerizable unsaturated polymer or a photopolymerizable oligomer.

The photopolymerizable monomer plays the role of a diluent for the above-mentioned photopolymerizable prepolymer. Usually, the photopolymerizable monomer is added in an amount of 0 to 99 parts by weight to ensure practical workability of the ink. It is itself involved in the polymerization reaction due to the action of the terminal functional group upon irradiation with ultraviolet rays. This photopolymerizable monomer can be classified into a monofunctional monomer and a polyfunctional monomer depending on the number of functional groups. In particular, the polyfunctional monomer plays the role of a cross-linking agent that forms a bridge between the polymers.

Further, the photoinitiator absorbs ultraviolet rays and serves as a trigger for the polymerization reaction.

Further, the ink layer 1b according to the present embodiment.
In addition to the above-mentioned three components, the recording material for thermal transfer, which is included in the composition, further contains additives such as a sensitizer, a pigment, a filler, a leveling agent, and a viscoelasticity modifier, if necessary. Is.

Suitable examples of the photopolymerizable prepolymer used in the recording material for thermal transfer of the present invention include polyester acrylate, epoxy acrylate, urethane acrylate, polyether acrylate and polyacrylate.

As the photopolymerizable monomer, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyhexyl acrylate
Monofunctional type such as hydroxyethyl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, and derivative of tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, dicyclopentenyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyloxyethyl acrylate, 1,3-butanediol acrylate, 1,4-butanediol Acrylate, 1,6-hexanediol acrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate,
Neopentyl glycol diacrylate, polyethylene glycol 400 diacrylate, hydroxypivalate neopentyl glycol diacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate, 1,3-bis (3-acryloxyethoxy-2-hydroxypropyl) -5,5- Preferred examples include dimethylhydantoin, hydroxypivalic acid ester, neopentyl glycol derivative diacrylate and other bifunctional types, and trimethylolpropane triacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, and dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate. be able to.

As the photoinitiator, biacetyl, acetophenone, benzophenone, Michler's ketone, benzyl, benzoin, benzoin isobutyl ether, benzyl dimethyl ketal, tetramethyl thiuram sulfide, azobisisobutyl nitrile, benzoyl peroxide, di-tert-butyl. Peroxide, 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone, 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-propan-1-one, 1
-(4-Isopropylphenyl) -2-hydroxy-2
-Methylpropan-1-one, 2-chlorothioxanthone, methylbenzoyl formate and the like can be mentioned as preferable ones.

Examples of the colorant include black pigments such as carbon black, acetylene black and oil black, white pigments such as titania and calcium carbonate, and known dyes such as yellow, magenta and cyan. By appropriately changing the addition amount of these pigments or dyes, the color tone and the like can be adjusted to a desired state.

Next, the reproducing method of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The reproducing method of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present embodiment is a recording material for thermal transfer having the above-mentioned constitution in order to reproduce the used ink ribbon as shown in FIG. A step of applying the applied ink to the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 including the ink defect portion 1c (see FIG. 1).
(B)) The ultraviolet ray irradiation is performed from the back surface side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, that is, the base material 1a side, so that the ink defect portion 1 is formed.
Step of curing the applied ink applied in c (see FIG. 1)
(C)), and then a cleaning step of removing the excess coating ink applied to areas other than the ink deficient portion 1c (see FIG. 1).
(D)) consists of three steps, and particularly when reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium 1 for high-definition printing,
It is also possible to add an annealing step (FIG. 1E) in which the boundary portion 3 between the regenerated ink layer 2a and the remaining ink layer 1b disappears by melting the ink.

To further explain, referring to FIG.
The thermal transfer recording medium 1 such as a used ink ribbon or ink sheet has an ink layer 1b which is left on the substrate 1a and which has not been used for printing, and a substrate between the pair of ink layers 1b and 1b. On the material 1a, the ink layer is transferred and recorded on the recording paper, so that the ink defect portion 1c is formed.

In order to reproduce the thermal transfer recording medium 1 after being used once, in the step shown in FIG. 1B, first, in the step shown in FIG. Is applied to the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 including the ink deficient portion 1c, and then the film thickness control device 7 such as a roller, a knife or a blade is moved to make the film thickness of the applied ink 2 uniform. Here, it is ideal that the film thickness of the applied ink 2 to be applied is equivalent to the film thickness of the ink defect portion 1c, but even if the applied amount is excessive as in the present embodiment, it remains on the base material 1a. Even if the applied ink comes to adhere to the surface of the untransferred ink layer 1b, there is no particular problem because of the cleaning step described later.

Next, in the step shown in FIG.
From the side of the substrate 1a of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 on which the coating ink 2 is applied, that is, from the back side, the ultraviolet irradiation device 8 irradiates the entire surface with ultraviolet rays 8 '. As the light source of the ultraviolet irradiator 8, a low or high pressure mercury lamp, a mercury xenon, a metal halide lamp or the like that radiates ultraviolet rays 8'is used.

Even with this irradiation of ultraviolet rays, the untransferred residual ink layer 1b has already been solidified so that there is no change, and the coating ink 2b coated on this untransferred ink layer 1b is irradiated. Since the ultraviolet ray 8'is blocked by the untransferred ink layer 1b and does not penetrate to the surface, a polymerization reaction by the ultraviolet ray 8'does not occur and the liquid state is maintained.

On the other hand, the coating ink 2 applied to the ink deficient portion 1c is irradiated with the ultraviolet rays 8'transmitted through the light-transmitting base material 1a, so that a polymerization reaction occurs and the ink is cured to be reproduced as the ink layer 2a. To be done.

As described above, according to the method of reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium of the present embodiment, it is possible to only cure the coating ink 2 existing in the ink defect portion 1c.

The thickness of the ink layer 2a to be reproduced is
It can be appropriately controlled depending on the curing conditions such as ultraviolet irradiation time, power and wavelength and the characteristics of the material used.

Next, in the cleaning process of FIG. 1D, the excess coating ink 2b (FIG. 1C) which has not reacted and has not cured in the ultraviolet irradiation process shown in FIG.
(See (C)) is wiped off and removed by the cleaning roller 9, whereby the one cycle of the recycling process is completed.

When reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium 1 for high-definition printing, it is necessary to further restore the boundary portion 3 between the remaining ink layer 1b and the newly reproduced ink layer 2a. If there is any, an additional annealing step of performing a thermal annealing process from the surface side of the ink layer 1b using a heating device 10 such as a halogen lamp as shown in FIG. The ink layer may be made compatible with each other so that the boundary portion 3 disappears. As means for performing this heat annealing treatment, in addition to the non-contact heating method using the halogen lamp light source described above, a contact heating method using a thermal head can be used.

This annealing step is effective as a means to be used together when extremely high-definition printing of a photographic image or the like is required, and can be omitted in the case of normal character printing or the like.

The reproduction of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is completed by the steps shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (E), but in order to perform recording on the reproduced thermal transfer recording medium 1, FIG.
In the thermal transfer recording step, by irradiating infrared rays 30 ', which is one kind of laser light oscillated by the laser light source 30 as a heating means, from the substrate 1a side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 reproduced in FIG. 1D. Infrared rays 30 'transmitted through the inside of the substrate 1a are absorbed by the ink 1b, and the ink 1b
The heat transfer recording is performed on the recording sheet 5 due to the heat generation of the sheet.

The infrared rays 3 radiated during the thermal transfer recording
Reference numeral 0'denotes a thermal transfer output image corresponding to the input information by collecting infrared rays oscillated from the laser light source 30 through an optical lens, a modulator or the like (not shown), reflecting them by the polygon mirror 31, and irradiating the infrared rays. Can be obtained on the recording paper 5.

Next, an example of a laser type thermal transfer printer provided with the reproducing / recording method of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows that the thermal transfer recording medium reproducing / recording method of the present invention is provided inside the main body, so that the recording and the recording of the thermal transfer recording medium once used for the recording operation are simultaneously performed to replace the ink ribbon cassette. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a reproducing / recording apparatus (thermal transfer recording apparatus) of the present invention that can be used for a long period of time or continuously without being used.

In FIG. 2, in the reproducing / recording apparatus main body 21, an endless ink as a thermal transfer recording medium in which an ink layer made of the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording material is laminated and coated on an endless base film having both ends connected. The ribbon 1'is stretched by two transport rollers 22 and 23 and two guide rollers 20 and 20, and is configured to be transported at a constant speed by a drive mechanism (not shown).

Further, a hopping roller (not shown) for holding and conveying the recording paper 5 used for print recording in the paper feed unit 26 is arranged in the main body 21, and the endless ink ribbon is provided. 1'is pressed against the platen roller 16 by the two guide rollers 20 to perform desired print recording. In addition, the recording sheet 5 after recording is the sheet discharge section 2
Stacked in 7.

Next, the operation of the reproducing / recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, the recording paper 5 is conveyed between the base film 1'and the platen roller 16 by the guide roll 20, and the infrared ray 30 'having a wavelength of 850 nm outputted from the laser light source 30 is rotated by a driving means (not shown) to rotate the polygon mirror 31. To the base film side of the endless ink ribbon 1 ′ conveyed in close contact with the platen roller 16. The irradiated infrared rays 30 'are transmitted through the inside of the base film and absorbed by the ink, whereby the ink heats up and desired thermal transfer print recording is performed.

The ink deficiency portion produced on the endless ink ribbon 1'by the transfer of the ink faces the coating roller 15 to which the coating ink is supplied from the ink supply roller 12 by the subsequent transfer of the ink ribbon 1 '. After moving to the position, the coating ink is applied at this position, and the ultraviolet ray irradiator 8 irradiates the ultraviolet ray 8'from the back side to solidify the thermal transfer recording material applied to the ink deficient portion to regenerate the ink layer. It

Further, the ink ribbon 1'after the solidification and reproduction is conveyed to a position facing the cleaning device 9, and the excess coating ink remaining on the surface thereof which has not reacted and cured in the ultraviolet irradiation step is removed. The steps of thermal transfer recording, ink coating, and ink sheet reproduction are continuously performed.

In the present embodiment, the thermal transfer recording medium having a single ink layer has been described as an example. However, by adjusting the irradiation conditions of ultraviolet rays in the reproducing method of the present invention, a multi-time ribbon or the like can be formed. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to reproduction of a thermal transfer recording medium having a laminated structure.

Next, in FIG. 3, a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing apparatus is provided inside the main body, so that the recording and the recording of the thermal transfer recording medium used for the one-time recording operation are simultaneously performed to replace the ink ribbon cassette. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a reproducing / recording apparatus of the present invention that can be used for a long period of time or continuously without being used. In addition,
In the following description, the same components as those described in FIG. 2 will be assigned the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, a reproducing / recording apparatus main body 21 serves as a thermal transfer recording medium in which an ink layer made of the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording material is laminated and coated on an endless base film having both ends connected. Endless ink ribbon 1 '
However, the pair of guide rollers 20, 20, a pressure contact roller 23 that is in pressure contact with the ink supply roller 12 via the ink ribbon 1 ′, and the thermal head 4 are held in a tensioned state. The ink ribbon 1'is configured to be transported at a constant speed by a drive mechanism (not shown). As the material of the base film, it is desirable to use polyimide or polyamide having high heat resistance and high mechanical abrasion so that it can withstand long-term use.

Further, a platen roller 16 for holding and conveying the recording paper 5 used for printing and recording is arranged in the main body 21, and the endless ink ribbon 1 ′ is provided by the thermal head 4 to the platen roller 16. Roller 16
The desired print recording is performed by being pressed against.

Next, the operation of the reproducing / recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, the recording sheet 5 is conveyed between the thermal head 4 and the platen roller 16, and the endless ink ribbon 1 ′ between the platen roller 16 and the thermal head 4 is moved by the thermal head 4 as in a normal thermal transfer recording apparatus. The ink is thermally transferred and desired print recording is performed.

Then, the ink deficiency portion produced on the ink ribbon 1'by the transfer of the ink is moved to a position facing the recording material supply roller 12 by the subsequent transfer of the ink ribbon 1 ', and at this position, the ink supply roller 1'. 1
After the coating ink in the coating ink tank 18 drawn up by 2 is applied and the film thickness of the applied ink is controlled to be constant at a position facing the film thickness control device 7,
Ultraviolet rays are radiated from the back side by the ultraviolet ray irradiator 8 to solidify the applied ink applied to the ink deficient portion to regenerate the ink layer.

Then, of the applied ink applied to the surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, an extra ink which is applied to a portion other than the ink deficient portion, that is, a portion where the ink layer remains and which is not solidified by the above-mentioned ultraviolet irradiation is used. A series of thermal transfer recording medium reproducing steps are completed by removing the boundary portion between the ink layer regenerated by the cleaning roller 9 and the ink layer regenerated by the annealing treatment by the heating device 10 and the remaining ink layer. The reproduced endless ink ribbon 1'is transferred to a position facing the thermal head 4 and used again for print recording.

As described above, according to the reproducing / recording apparatus of this embodiment, the ink ribbon 1'can be repeatedly used only by replenishing the recording material for thermal transfer to the portion where the ink layer is lost due to the printing and recording. Therefore, the troublesome work such as mounting, reversing and replacing the ink ribbon cassette, which has been performed conventionally, is not required at all, and the operability is remarkably improved, and the ink ribbon 1'is repetitively replenished only by replenishing substantially the used ink. Since it can be used repeatedly, the running cost can be significantly reduced.

[0095]

EXAMPLES Next, specific examples of the present invention will be further described.

Example 1 Hydroxyl alkyl methacrylate (75 parts by weight), acrylic acid (10 parts by weight) and polyurethane dimethacrylate (10 parts by weight) were used as an ultraviolet curable resin, and an acetophenone compound was used as a photoreaction initiator. 20 parts by weight of carbon black as a colorant was added to an ultraviolet curable ink containing 5 parts by weight of the above to prepare a coating ink as a recording material for thermal transfer.

The prepared coating ink was put into a coating liquid pan,
After gravure coating on the surface of Teijin-made 3.5 μm thick PET film back-treated with Cyagoc US350 / MEK solution manufactured by Toagosei Kagaku Co., Ltd., the whole surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays having a central wavelength of 365 nm and 20 mW / cm ² for 3 minutes from the PET back surface. The applied ink was cured to produce an ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium.

When this ink ribbon was mounted on a thermal transfer printer (resolution: 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., Ltd., and printing was performed, an image with an image density of 1.3 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

After that, the used ink ribbon is set in the reproducing apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 2, and the coating ink having the above-mentioned composition is applied and the ultraviolet ray is irradiated by the method and the procedure as described above, and the ink deficient portion is exposed. Was replayed.
Since the coating ink used in this example is insoluble in an organic solvent after ultraviolet irradiation, a felt cleaner composed of a cleaning roller having a felt surface is used as a cleaning device. Although undesired unreacted ink adhering to areas other than the ink deficient portion was cleaned by immersing in, a dry cleaning method that does not use an organic solvent can be applied in the case of the present embodiment.

When the ink ribbon thus regenerated was attached to the printer and printing was performed again, an image with good edge reproducibility was obtained with an image density of 1.3, which is comparable to the previous time. Was given.

Example 2 Hydroxyl alkyl methacrylate (98 parts by weight) and benzoyl peroxide (1 part by weight) were used as an ultraviolet curable resin, and 1 part by weight of an acetophenone compound, saccharin and N were used as a photoreaction initiator. , N-dialkyltoluidine was added in an amount of 1 part by weight or less each in a trace amount, and 15 parts by weight of carbon black as a colorant was added to the ultraviolet curable ink to prepare a coating ink as a thermal transfer recording material.

The prepared coating ink was put into a coating liquid pan,
After gravure coating on the surface of Teijin-made 3.5 μm-thick PET film, which was back-treated with Cyagoc US350 / MEK solution manufactured by Toagosei Kagaku Co., Ltd., the whole surface was irradiated with UV light having a central wavelength of 365 nm and 8 mW / cm ² from the PET back surface for 15 minutes. The applied ink was cured to produce an ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium.

When this ink ribbon was mounted on a thermal transfer printer (resolution: 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., Ltd. and printing was performed, an image with an image density of 1.4 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

Thereafter, this used ink ribbon is set in the reclaiming apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 2, and the coating of the coating ink having the above-mentioned composition and the irradiation of ultraviolet rays are performed by the same method and procedure as in Example 1. The defect was regenerated. The surface of the regenerated ink ribbon was washed with a felt cleaner.

When the ink ribbon thus reproduced was mounted on the printer and printing was carried out again, an image with good edge reproducibility was obtained with an image density of 1.4 which was comparable to the previous time. Was given.

(Example 3) Hydroxylalkyl methacrylate (80 parts by weight), acrylic acid (15 parts by weight) and polyurethane dimethacrylate (2 parts by weight) were used as an ultraviolet curable resin, and an acetophenone compound was used as a photoreaction initiator. 3 parts by weight of was added to prepare an ultraviolet curable material.

The prepared material was put into a coating liquid pan and gravure-coated on the surface of a Teijin-made 3.5 μm-thick PET film that had been back-treated with a Toa Gosei Kagaku Cymac US350 / MEK solution. 36
The applied ink was cured by irradiating the entire surface with 5 nm and 10 mW / cm ² of ultraviolet rays for 30 seconds to form a first layer to be a release layer.

Then, an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (3
0 parts by weight), carnauba wax (45 parts by weight) and carbon black (25 parts by weight) are melt mixed,
An ink paste was prepared by kneading with a roller mill. Ink paste is dissolved in toluene, 0.1 g /
cc ink coating liquid was used. This ink coating liquid was solvent coated with a gravure coater to form a second layer to be an ink layer, and an ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium composed of a release layer and an ink layer was manufactured.

When this ink ribbon was mounted on a thermal transfer printer (resolution 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., Ltd. and printing was performed, an image with an image density of 1.6 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

After that, the used ink ribbon is set in the reproducing apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 2, and the first layer, which is the release layer, is formed by applying the ultraviolet curable material and irradiating the ultraviolet ray by the above-described method and procedure. The layer was regenerated, and the ink coating liquid was further applied in layers to form a second layer to regenerate the ink defect portion.

When the ink ribbon thus regenerated was attached to the printer and printing was performed again, an image with good edge reproducibility was obtained with an image density of 1.6, which is comparable to the previous time. Was given.

Example 4 An ink paste was prepared by melt-mixing a material consisting of carnauba wax (75 parts by weight) and carbon black (25 parts by weight) and kneading with a roll mill. The ink paste was dissolved in toluene to give an ink coating liquid of 0.1 g / cc.

The prepared coating ink was put into a coating liquid pan,
The first layer was formed by gravure coating on the surface of a Teijin-made 3.5 μm-thick PET film back-treated with Toagosei Kagaku Cymac US350 / MEK solution.

As an ultraviolet curable resin, hydroxylalkyl methacrylate (65 parts by weight) and acrylic acid (25 parts) were used.
(5 parts by weight) and polyurethane dimethacrylate (5 parts by weight) were used to prepare an ultraviolet curable material containing 5 parts by weight of an acetophenone compound as a photoreaction initiator, and applied on the first layer.

Thereafter, the coating ink was cured by irradiating the entire upper surface of the PET film with ultraviolet light having a central wavelength of 365 nm and a wavelength of 100 mW / cm ² for 30 seconds to form a second layer.

When this ink ribbon was mounted on a thermal transfer printer (resolution: 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., Ltd. and printing was performed, an image with an image density of 1.1 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

(Example 5) Radical-polymerizable 2-ethylhexyl carbitol acrylate (M manufactured by Toagosei Kagaku)
-120) and polyethylene glycol diacrylate (M-245 manufactured by Toagosei Kagaku Co., Ltd.) were mixed, and an ultraviolet curable resin (55 parts by weight) to which a dilocurer made by Ciba-Geigy was added as a reaction initiator was added. 1 (30 parts by weight), polywax 655 (5 parts by weight), and other hydrogenated rosin (5 as a tackifier)
Parts by weight), carbon black M manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei as a colorant
Ink was prepared by kneading A-100 (5 parts by weight) using a roll mill.

The prepared coating ink was applied to a 100 μm Teijin polyester film using a wire bar.
Coating was performed with a film thickness of μm to prepare an ink sheet.

10 mW / cm from a high pressure mercury lamp having a central wavelength of 364 nm from the back of the polyester film
^The coated ink was cured by irradiating it with ultraviolet rays of ² for 1 minute.

A recording paper for a copying machine (Xerox 4024) was pressed against the ink surface, and a semiconductor laser having an output spectrum of 850 nm at an output of 40 mW (Sharp L
DP-8340H) was irradiated from the polyester back surface for 1 second.

The ink in the irradiated area was heated and melted, and a solid image having an optical reflection density of 1.4 was obtained on the recording paper.

After that, the ink sheet used for printing by the above-mentioned method was again coated with the above-mentioned coating ink by the same method as described above, irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and cleaned to regenerate the ink sheet.

In the same manner as above, the same laser light as above was applied from the back surface of the polyester film to perform reproduction and recording. A solid image having the same optical reflection density of 1.4 as that of the first time was obtained on the recording paper.

When the above reproducing / recording process was repeated 10 times, a stable image density was obtained.

When the back surface of the polyester film after repeated use was observed, it was found that there was no deterioration in shape due to ultraviolet irradiation and the tensile strength was hardly changed.

[0126]

Next, FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the method for reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium described in the embodiment in FIG. 1 described above. The thermal transfer recording medium of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. Since the steps (A) and (B) in the reproducing method are the same as those in FIGS. 1A and 1B described above, description thereof will be omitted, and only the subsequent steps will be described.

After the thermal transfer recording material having the same structure as described above with reference to FIG. 4B is applied over the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 including the ink deficient portion 1c, in this embodiment, in particular, ultraviolet irradiation is performed. Is performed from the surface side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, that is, from the ink layer 1b side to cure all of the applied thermal transfer recording material (FIG. 4).
(C)). Thus, by irradiating the ultraviolet rays from the ink layer 1b side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1,
The cleaning process for removing the excess recording material for thermal transfer is unnecessary. In particular, when reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium 1 for performing high-definition printing, the reproduced ink layer 2a and the remaining ink layer 1b, as in FIG. 1 (E).
It is also possible to add an annealing step (FIG. 4 (D)) in which the boundary portion 3 between and is erased by melting the ink.

Thus, by irradiating ultraviolet rays from the surface side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, that is, from the ink layer 1b side to cure all of the applied thermal transfer recording material, the cleaning step can be omitted, and the thermal transfer can be omitted. Since the base material 1a of the recording medium 1 is not irradiated with ultraviolet rays, it is possible to avoid the possibility of repeated deterioration of the resin of the base material 1a due to repeated irradiation of ultraviolet rays.

Next, a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment and a thermal transfer printer equipped with this reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively.

First, since the present embodiment of FIG. 5 is a modification of the above-described embodiment of FIG. 2, description of the same configuration as FIG. 2 will be omitted, and only the configuration different from FIG. 2 will be described.

In FIG. 5, the cleaning roller 9 shown in FIG.
A guide roller 17 that does not have a cleaning function is disposed at a portion corresponding to. This is because no cleaning is required according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

Further, an ultraviolet irradiator 8 for solidifying the thermal transfer recording material applied to the thermal transfer recording medium 1,
The recording material supply roller 12 and the thermal transfer recording medium 1 are disposed outside the thermal transfer recording medium 1 so as to face the ink layer of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 between the guide rollers 17 downstream of the roller 12 in the running direction. There is.

Next, the operation of the reproducing apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

The ribbon cassette 11 is mounted on the mounting portion 22, the tension head 13 is moved from A to B in the figure, the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is hooked on the tension head 13 and pulled out from the ribbon cassette 11, and its base material is used. The surface on the opposite side is pressed against the recording material supply roller 12. Then, the traveling unit 14 in the retracted position is moved in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and stopped at the advanced position, and then the pair of tension rollers 19, 19 supported by the traveling unit 14 are respectively guided by the guide rollers 17 ,.
The thermal transfer recording medium 1 is pressed against 17 and the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is sandwiched between the tension rollers 19 and the guide rollers 17 to complete the preparation of the running system of the thermal transfer recording medium 1.
Then, in this state, the take-up bobbin 15 of the ribbon cassette 11 is rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown) provided in the reproducing device 24, so that the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is run in a direction indicated by an arrow C in the figure. Then, as the thermal transfer recording medium 1 travels, the ink supply roller 12
The recording material for thermal transfer is applied to the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 by means of, and the film thickness of the thermal transfer recording material applied on the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is uniformly controlled by the film thickness control device 7, By irradiating ultraviolet rays from the ink layer side of the surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 by the irradiator 8, all of the ink deficient portion and the thermal transfer recording material coated on the ink layer are solidified to the ink deficient portion. The ink layer is regenerated and a new thin ink layer is laminated on the ink layer.

After that, the boundary portion between the ink layer on the thermal transfer recording medium 1 regenerated by the annealing process by the heating device 10 and the ink layer remaining on the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is eliminated, so that a series of thermal transfer recording mediums are removed. The regeneration step 1 is completed.

Since the thermal transfer printer shown in FIG. 6 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the description of the same configuration as that of FIG. 3 will be omitted and only the configuration different from that of FIG. 3 will be described. Also in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the cleaning roller as shown in FIG. 3 is not used, and instead, the guide roller 17 that comes into pressure contact with the guide roller 20 is provided. An ultraviolet irradiator 8 for solidifying the thermal transfer recording material applied to the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is provided with a guide roller 17 downstream of the recording material supply roller 12 and the roller 12 in the traveling direction of the thermal transfer recording medium 1. It is arranged outside the thermal transfer recording medium 1 so as to face the ink layer of the thermal transfer recording medium 1.

Next, the operation of the reproducing / recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, the recording paper 5 is conveyed between the thermal head 4 and the platen roller 16, and the endless ink ribbon 1 ′ between the platen roller 16 and the thermal head 4 is moved by the thermal head 4 as in a normal thermal transfer recording apparatus. The ink is thermally transferred and desired print recording is performed.

Then, the ink deficient portion generated on the ink ribbon 1'by the transfer of the ink moves to a position facing the ink supply roller 12 by the subsequent transfer of the ink ribbon 1 ', and at this position, the ink supply roller 12'.
The coating ink in the ink tank 18 drawn up by is applied over the entire surface, and the thickness of the coating ink applied at a position facing the film thickness control device 7 is controlled to be constant, and then the ultraviolet irradiator 8 is used. Ultraviolet rays are irradiated from the ink layer side, and the ink layer is regenerated by solidifying the applied ink applied to the ink defect portion and the remaining ink layer.

Then, the boundary portion between the ink layer regenerated by the annealing treatment by the heating device 10 and the remaining ink layer is eliminated, whereby a series of thermal transfer recording medium regeneration steps are completed, and the regenerated ink is regenerated. The ribbon 1'is transferred to a position facing the thermal head 4 and used again for printing and recording.

According to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cleaning means is not required, and the resin forming the substrate of the thermal transfer recording medium is not likely to undergo strength deterioration due to repeated irradiation of light.

Further, in an anaerobic photocurable resin, oxygen acts as a polymerization stopper for reactive radicals, so that chain growth terminates low molecules in the air, leaving uncured monomers and prepolymers as residues. Will remain. However, when UV irradiation is performed from the surface of the ink layer of the thermal transfer recording medium as in the present embodiment, curing proceeds from the outermost surface, so that the uncured ink layer near the base material blocks oxygen and polymerizes inside the layer. Will proceed with high efficiency.

[0143]

EXAMPLE A specific example of FIGS. 5 and 6 described above is shown.

Example 6 Hydroxylalkyl methacrylate (75 parts by weight), acrylic acid (10 parts by weight) and polyurethane dimethacrylate (10 parts by weight) were used as an ultraviolet curable resin, and an acetophenone compound was used as a photoreaction initiator. 5 parts by weight of carbon black as a colorant was added to an ultraviolet curable ink containing 5 parts by weight of the above to prepare a coating ink as a recording material for thermal transfer.

The prepared coating ink was put into a coating liquid pan,
After gravure coating on the surface of Teijin's 3.5 μm thick PET film that was back-treated with Toagosei Kagaku US350 / MEK solution, UV irradiation with a central wavelength of 365 nm and 20 mW / cm ² was applied to the entire surface for 3 minutes from the ink layer surface. Then, the applied ink was cured to produce an ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium.

When this ink ribbon was mounted on a thermal transfer printer (resolution: 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., Ltd., and printing was performed, an image with an image density of 1.3 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

Then, this used ink ribbon is set in the reproducing apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 5, and the coating of the coating ink having the above-mentioned composition and the irradiation of ultraviolet rays from the ink layer surface are carried out by the method and procedure as described above. Then, the ink ribbon was regenerated. In this example, since the ink layer was entirely regenerated, cleaning was not performed.

When the ink ribbon thus regenerated was attached to the printer and printing was performed again, an image with good edge reproducibility was obtained with an image density of 1.3, which is comparable to the previous time. Was given.

Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the above-mentioned gist as needed.

[0150]

As described above, according to the thermal transfer recording material and the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, since the resin material which is cured by light is used as the main material, it is easy to irradiate light such as ultraviolet rays. It is possible to form the ink layer, or the release layer and the overcoat layer by various methods in a short time.

Further, according to the method for producing a thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, after the thermal transfer recording material containing the resin material which is cured by light is applied on the substrate in the step, the applied thermal transfer recording material is applied. Since the ink layer is formed on the substrate by irradiating light, it is not necessary to use an organic solvent that is harmful to the human body as in the past, and a hot-air dryer that volatilizes the organic solvent, an attached duct, and a recovery device are used. Since it is not necessary to use such a device, it is possible to downsize the manufacturing apparatus and save power.

Further, according to the reproducing method and reproducing apparatus of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, after applying the thermal transfer recording material containing the resin material which is cured by light to at least the ink defect portion of the used thermal transfer recording medium, Since the used thermal transfer recording medium is reproduced by irradiating the thermal transfer recording medium with light, it is possible to reproduce the thermal transfer recording medium in an extremely good state with a simple structure and to use it repeatedly many times. The troublesome work such as mounting, reversing, and replacing the ink ribbon cassette, which has been performed conventionally, is completely unnecessary, and the operability is significantly improved.

Furthermore, since the thermal transfer recording medium can be repeatedly used many times by substantially replenishing only the ink used for printing and recording, the running cost can be remarkably reduced. Further, since the photo-curing reaction is instantaneously performed, it becomes possible to perform the reproduction at high speed.

Further, in the case of irradiating light from the substrate side of the thermal transfer recording medium to perform the supply of ink to the ink deficient portion, the curing and the reproduction, the ink deficiency is selectively caused by the difference in the transmittance of the irradiated ultraviolet rays. Since the principle of reproducing only a part is used as a means, if the ink that has already remained before the reproduction has the characteristic of blocking ultraviolet rays, it does not affect the subsequent reproduction operation. Therefore, even if the residual ink and the recycled ink are not exactly the same in terms of physicochemical properties, it is possible to regenerate the ink deficient portion, and there is also an effect that the present invention can be applied to a commercial ink ribbon having different characteristics or a conventional ink ribbon.

On the other hand, the one that irradiates light from the ink layer side of the thermal transfer recording medium to solidify all of the thermal transfer recording material applied to the thermal transfer recording medium does not require a cleaning means and does not require thermal transfer. There is no fear that the resin forming the substrate of the recording medium will be deteriorated in strength due to repeated irradiation of light.

Further, according to the thermal transfer recording method and recording apparatus of the present invention, since the thermal transfer recording medium can be reproduced with a simple structure, the reproducing apparatus can be incorporated in the thermal transfer recording apparatus, and By performing the reproducing operation of the thermal transfer recording medium, it becomes possible to perform print recording at a low running cost for a long time or a long time.

Furthermore, since the photocurable resin such as the ultraviolet curable resin used in the present invention is excellent in weather resistance, the long-term storage stability of recorded information is good and the print quality is not easily deteriorated.

In particular, the heating means using laser light can bring about the following effects A to C.

A Longer Life of Film (Reduction of Running Cost) In the backside exposure type reproduction / recording process using a thermal head, a) good transmission of ultraviolet rays in the wavelength range where the ink is cured.

B) The film thickness is thin so that the heat applied to the back surface of the film can instantly reach the ink on the surface.

C) Less deterioration of strength due to exposure to ultraviolet rays for improving durability.

Is required.

However, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example, polyimide having a low UV transmittance maintains the initial tensile strength after being exposed to UV for 3 hours, but it has a short tensile strength such as PPS (polyphenylsulfone) and polyester. The results show that strength deterioration becomes more pronounced for films that transmit ultraviolet rays of a wavelength.This is because films that transmit ultraviolet rays deteriorate to the inside, whereas films that block ultraviolet rays have surface deterioration. It can be understood as a result that reflects the general characteristic that it is for staying. It is also understood that the film having a larger film thickness has a higher initial strength, so that it has a certain minimum strength even after exposure.

Therefore, in order to extend the life of the back exposure film that transmits ultraviolet rays, it is necessary to increase the film thickness to increase the initial strength, but if the film thickness is increased, the thermal efficiency decreases and thermal transfer recording is performed. The reciprocal effect of decreasing speed will appear.

However, in the laser thermal transfer recording, since the laser beam penetrates the inside of the film and directly heats the ink, a thick film can be used. Therefore, the life of the film can be extended and the running cost can be reduced. Is possible.

Further, in the thermal transfer recording by the thermal head, since the film is heated while being in contact with the film, abrasion and damage due to friction with the film occur. However, since laser thermal transfer is non-contact heating, there is no damage to the head or film.

By making a film having low heat resistance thick, it becomes difficult for it to be thermally deformed.

B Mechanism Design A thick film can easily design a running mechanism, and in particular, can prevent uneven coating due to wrinkles during coating.

C Printing Quality Since the irradiation area of laser light can be easily controlled, it is advantageous for dot diameter gradation recording as compared with the recording method using a thermal head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a reproducing / recording method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a laser reproducing / recording apparatus provided with a reproducing / recording method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a thermal reproduction recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and the reproducing method of the first embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the reproducing apparatus for the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the reproducing / recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the results of a strength deterioration test of a base film by ultraviolet rays.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the spectral transmittance of the base film.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration and a recording principle of a conventional heat melting type ink ribbon.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration and a recording principle of a conventional multi-time ink ribbon.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermal Transfer Recording Medium 1'Endless Ink Ribbon 1a Base Film 1b Residual Ink Layer 1c Ink Defect 1e Lubricant Layer 2 Thermal Transfer Recording Material (Coating Ink) 2a Cured Ink 2b Uncured Ink 3 Boundary 4 Thermal Means) 5 Recording paper 6 Transfer ink 7 Film thickness control device 8 Ultraviolet irradiation device 9 Cleaning device 10 Heating device 11 Ribbon cassette 12 Ink supply roller 13 Tension head 14 Traveling unit 15 Coating roller 16 Platen roller 17 Guide roller 18 Ink tank 19 Tension roller 20 Guide roller 21 Playback recording device main body 22 Conveying roller 23 Pressing roller 24 Playback device 30 Laser light source (heating means) 30 'Infrared

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location 7416-2H B41M 5/26 F 7416-2HE

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A recording material for thermal transfer comprising at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant. 2. The thermal transfer recording material according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a low melting point resin and a wax. 3. A thermal transfer recording material comprising a base material, a photopolymerizable monomer and / or a photopolymerizable polymer formed on the base material, and a colorant is applied and irradiated with light to be solidified. A thermal transfer recording medium having a formed ink layer. 4. The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 3, wherein the ink layer further contains at least one of a low melting point resin and a wax. 5. A recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant is applied on a substrate, and then irradiated with light to cause a polymerization reaction in the recording material. A method for producing a thermal transfer recording medium, which comprises forming a solid ink layer. 6. The method of manufacturing a thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 5, wherein the light is ultraviolet light. 7. A thermal transfer recording medium having a base material and an ink layer, wherein an ink deficiency portion is formed after use in a recording operation.
A recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant is applied, and then a portion where the recording material is applied is irradiated with light to cause a polymerization reaction in the recording material to cause solidification. A method for reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium, characterized in that the thermal transfer recording medium is put into a reusable state. 8. The method of reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 7, wherein the light is ultraviolet light. 9. The method of reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 7, wherein the irradiation of the light is performed from the side of the base material. 10. The method for reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 7, wherein the irradiation of the light is performed from the ink layer side. 11. A transfer means for transferring a thermal transfer recording medium, a recording material applying means for applying a thermal transfer recording material to an ink defect portion of the thermal transfer recording medium, and a light for the thermal transfer recording material. And a light irradiation means for irradiating the thermal transfer recording medium. 12. The reproducing apparatus for the thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 11, wherein the light irradiating unit is arranged at a position facing the base material of the thermal transfer recording medium. 13. The reproducing apparatus for the thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 11, wherein the light irradiating means is arranged at a position facing a surface of the thermal transfer recording medium opposite to the base material. . 14. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a cleaning unit for removing an excessive portion of the thermal transfer recording material applied on the thermal transfer recording medium. Item 1. A thermal transfer recording medium reproducing apparatus according to item 1. 15. The reproducing apparatus for the thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 11, wherein the light irradiating means is an ultraviolet irradiator. 16. A thermal transfer recording medium having at least a substrate, a release layer, and an ink layer, wherein the release layer is coated with a thermal transfer recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer. A thermal transfer recording medium formed by irradiating light and solidifying. 17. A thermal transfer recording medium having at least a substrate, an ink layer, and an overcoat layer, wherein the overcoat layer contains at least one of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer. Apply
A thermal transfer recording medium formed by irradiating light to solidify. 18. The desired recording is performed by transferring the ink on the thermal transfer recording medium onto the paper by the thermal energy of the heating means, and then the recording operation causes photopolymerization to the ink defect portion of the thermal transfer recording medium. By coating a recording material containing at least one of a monomer and a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant and irradiating it with light, a polymerization reaction is caused in the recording material to reproduce the thermal transfer recording medium in a solid state, and the reproduction is performed. A reproducing / recording method characterized by using the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording medium for recording again. 19. A reproducing / recording apparatus having at least a heating means, a paper feeding mechanism, an electric control mechanism, and a thermal transfer recording medium, wherein the thermal transfer recording medium is a base material and a photopolymerizable monomer formed on the base material. And an ink layer formed by applying a thermal transfer recording material containing at least one of a photopolymerizable polymer and a colorant and irradiating light to solidify the recording material. 20. The reproducing / recording apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising a reproducing mechanism for reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium after being used for a recording operation in a reusable state. 21. The reproducing / recording apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the base material is formed in an endless shape.