JPH0958141A - Thermal transfer recording element having metal gloss and recorded matter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain recorded matter of an image such as a character or pattern having metal gloss, especially, recorded matter of halftone expression by a thermal head. SOLUTION: A thermal transfer recording element 1 for obtaining recorded matter is formed by providing at least a vapor deposition anchor layer 4, a metal vapor deposition layer 5 and an adhesive layer 6 on one surface of a base material 2 and the adhesive layer 6 contains at least one or more kind of a resin component selected from a group consisting of an ethylene/acrylic acid copolymer, an ethylene/methacrylic acid copolymer and an ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer. Both components are added as fine particles with an average particle size of 10μm or less and the total content of the resin component is 10-50wt.% of the total wt. of the adhesive layer and the wt. average mol.wt. thereof is 1000-100000. The recorded matter is obtained by halftone recording in area gradation by heating the thermal transfer recording element by a thermal head.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording element for obtaining a recorded product of an image such as characters and patterns having metallic luster by a thermal transfer recording system. In particular, it relates to a thermal transfer recording element capable of halftone density expression, that is, halftone expression, and a recorded matter obtained by the thermal transfer recording element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The hot stamping method has long been well known as a method for obtaining a printed matter having metallic luster. However, with the hot stamping method,
It is uneconomical and difficult to print a small number of copies because it is necessary to create a stamp made of metal or the like having a convex portion with the same shape as the characters or patterns to be printed. It was required to form fine dots and dots on the stamp by precision processing.

In recent years, a thermal transfer recording system using a thermal head and a thermal transfer ribbon has become widespread, and such a system is suitable for printing a small number of copies and can easily print a halftone image by area gradation. By using this method, it was expected that a recorded matter having a small number of copies and a halftone expression and a metallic luster could be obtained.

Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-30288 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-257082 attempt to perform thermal transfer with a thermal head using a transfer foil used in the conventional hot stamping method. These transfer foils have a structure in which a release layer, a vapor deposition anchor layer, a metal vapor deposition layer, and an adhesive layer are sequentially laminated on a base film, or in such a configuration, the vapor deposition anchor layer has a function of a release layer and is peeled. The layer was omitted, and the vapor deposition anchor layer, the metal vapor deposition layer, and the adhesive layer were sequentially laminated on the base film.
In the transfer foil used in the conventional hot stamping method, the vapor deposition anchor layer and the adhesive layer are composed mainly of a resin alone or a mixture of resin and wax. In particular, the adhesive layer is required to exhibit good adhesive force to both the metal vapor deposition layer and the adherend such as image receiving paper,
As materials satisfying this condition, resins such as polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylic acid ester, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polystyrene, polyurethane and cyclized rubber have been widely used.

[0005]

However, most of the above-mentioned resins conventionally used as an adhesive layer have a strong cohesive force, resulting in insufficient foil breakage during printing, resulting in failure to perform halftone recording, or an adhesive layer. Due to the insufficient adhesive force of the thermal head, there is a problem such as an absolute printing sensitivity shortage in which the transfer is not performed with the printing energy and printing pressure of the thermal transfer printing by the thermal head. In order to improve the printing sensitivity, it is preferable to use waxes in the adhesive layer,
Most waxes have poor adhesion to the metal vapor deposition layer. For this reason, a method of mixing the above resins with waxes is used, but if the resin is added to such an extent that a sufficient adhesive force with the metal vapor deposition layer is obtained, the printing sensitivity is extremely lowered, or the adhesive layer There is a problem that the cohesive force of the whole is increased, and as a result, foil breakage at the time of printing is reduced and satisfactory halftone tone recording cannot be obtained.

Therefore, as one of methods for improving foil breakage during printing, a method of thinning a vapor deposition anchor layer or an adhesive layer can be considered. However, regarding the thickness of the vapor deposition anchor layer, considering that the purpose of the vapor deposition anchor layer is to obtain a metallic luster by vapor deposition, there is a limit to thinning it. Also,
In order to obtain a transfer foil ribbon as a thermal transfer recording element having metallic luster of various tones, a coloring agent may be contained in the vapor deposition anchor layer, but even in this case, if the vapor deposition anchor layer is thinned, a sufficient density is obtained. I can't get the color tone of. On the other hand, the thinning of the adhesive layer causes a decrease in printing sensitivity due to insufficient adhesive strength during printing. Therefore, improvement of foil breakage during printing by thinning the vapor deposition anchor layer or the adhesive layer is problematic and not realistic.

Further, in order to improve the adhesive strength, a method of thickening the adhesive layer is conceivable. However, as described above, the thickening of the resin system, which has been widely used, causes the foil to break during printing. There is a problem because it lowers. Further, high resolution printing is required for a halftone image that expresses light and shade by fine halftone dots and the like. Therefore, even if the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer is excellent for both the metal vapor deposition layer and the adherend, it cannot be used unless high-resolution recording is possible.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a thermal transfer recording element suitable for producing a recorded matter having a metallic luster and capable of recording in a halftone tone, and a metallic luster obtained as a result. It is to provide the recorded matter.

[0009]

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems and to achieve the object, a thermal transfer recording element of the present invention has at least one vapor deposition anchor layer, a metal vapor deposition layer, and an adhesive layer on one surface of a substrate. And the adhesive layer, together with the wax component, at least one resin selected from the group consisting of ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer and eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer. The composition contains components. Further, in the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording element, the wax component and the resin component are contained in the adhesive layer as fine particles.
In the thermal transfer recording element, the adhesive layer contains at least one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, and eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer. The total content of the resin components is 10 in weight ratio with respect to the total weight of the adhesive layer.
It is also set to be 50%. In the thermal transfer recording element, the adhesive layer contains at least one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, and eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer. The resin component also has a weight average molecular weight of 1,000 to 100,000. Further, in the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording element, the average particle diameter of the fine particles of each of the wax component and the resin component contained in the adhesive layer is 10 or less.
It is also set to be not more than μm.

Further, the recorded matter having the metallic luster of the present invention is a recorded matter in which an image is recorded by using any one of the above thermal transfer recording elements. Further, the recorded matter having the metallic luster of the present invention has at least one surface of the substrate,
A thermal transfer recording medium having a metallic luster provided with a vapor deposition anchor layer, a metal vapor deposition layer, and an adhesive layer is used to obtain a recorded matter having a configuration in which halftone recording is performed by area gradation of an image.
Further, the recorded matter having the metallic luster of the present invention is a recorded matter in which halftone recording is performed by area gradation of an image using any one of the thermal transfer recording elements described above.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The thermal transfer recording element of the present invention will be described in detail below for each layer constituting the same, and then the recorded matter of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording element of the present invention. In the thermal transfer recording element 1 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, a back surface layer 7 is formed on the back surface side of a base material 2, and a release layer 3 and a vapor deposition anchor layer 4 are provided on the front surface side of the base material 2 in this order. The metal vapor deposition layer 5 and the adhesive layer 6 are formed. The back surface layer 7 and the release layer 3 can be omitted in some cases. The thermal transfer recording element of the present invention having such a structure is usually used as a thermal transfer ribbon, but can also be used as a sheet-shaped thermal transfer sheet or the like.

In such a layer structure, the thermal transfer recording element of the present invention is characterized in that a specific material is used for the adhesive layer. That is, the adhesive layer contains a wax component and a resin component, and as the resin component, a resin such as an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, an ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, and an eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer is used. By using the adhesive layer containing the above-mentioned specific material, the adhesive force between the adhesive layer and the metal vapor deposition layer can be made sufficient and good adhesive force can be maintained with the image receiving paper without impairing the printing sensitivity. The adhesive layer in which the above resin component is used together with the wax component in a specific amount range can suppress the cohesive force to a low level and does not reduce the adhesive force to the adherend at the time of printing. Therefore, a good recorded matter can be obtained by halftone recording. In particular, by using the wax component and the resin component in the form of fine particles, it is possible to suppress the cohesive force at the time of thermal transfer to be low, and it is possible to perform recording with high resolution and high sensitivity.

The layer-constituting materials illustrated in FIG. 1 will be sequentially described below.

The substrate 2 of the thermal transfer recording element 1 of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that can withstand the heating of the thermal head during thermal transfer recording and has desired heat conductivity, mechanical strength and the like. Known materials used for thermal transfer ribbons and the like can be used. For example, polyester, polypropylene, polystyrene, cellophane, cellulose acetate, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride,
There are plastic films such as polyimide, papers such as condenser paper and paraffin paper, non-woven fabrics, and the like, or a composite of these.

The thickness of the base material is appropriately adjusted in view of its mechanical strength and thermal conductivity, but it is usually preferably about 2 to 25 μm. Base material 2 as in one embodiment of FIG.
A heat-resistant back surface layer 7 for preventing thermal fusion with the thermal head may be provided on the back surface of the. In addition to the heat resistance, the back surface layer 7 may be provided with a sliding function for improving the sliding property.

As the back layer, for the purpose of heat resistance, a known thermosetting resin such as a melamine resin or a thermoplastic resin such as a silicone resin or a fluorine resin is used. Used, and to obtain lubricity, a filler,
Additives such as lubricants and antistatic agents are added. The thickness of the back surface layer is sufficient as long as it can prevent fusion and smoothness, and is usually about 0.1 to 3 μm.

The peeling layer 3 is a layer that forms the outermost surface of the recorded matter by transferring and transferring from the thermal transfer recording element to the transferred body side in the thickness direction in whole or in part by cohesive failure during transfer recording. In the case of partial transfer or full transfer, it is preferable that the cohesive force at the time of recording is low so that the foil breakage at the time of printing is good. Alternatively, it may be a layer that does not transfer at all. In short, the release layer is a layer that allows the thermal transfer recording element to be peeled off at this layer or at a surface adjacent to the layer, thereby enabling separation of the base material and the metal deposition layer.

Examples of the peeling layer 3 include carnauba wax, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, ester wax, Fischer-Tropsch wax, various low molecular weight polyethylene, wood wax, beeswax, whale wax, ivowa wax, wool wax, shellac wax, Various waxes such as candelilla wax, petrolactam, partially modified wax, fatty acid ester and fatty acid amide can be used.

Further, as the release layer 3, a resin other than the above-mentioned wax can be used as long as the release property from the substrate is appropriate, and the resin may be only the resin or a mixture of the wax and the resin. Examples of such a resin include rubber-based resins such as polyisoprene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, and butadiene acrylonitrile rubber, acrylic ester-based resins, polyvinyl ether-based resins, polyvinyl acetate-based resins, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers. Body resin, polystyrene resin, polyester resin, polyamide resin, polychlorinated olefin resin, polycarbonate,
Examples thereof include polyvinyl butyral resin.

The thickness of the release layer 3 is generally 0.1 in terms of coating amount.
The range is from 10 to 10 g / m ² . When it is less than 0.1 g / m ^2, it does not function as a peeling layer, and when it exceeds 10 g / m ² , foil breakage at the time of printing is reduced, and especially halftone recording cannot be performed well. In some cases, it may become unusable due to a decrease.

The vapor deposition anchor layer 4 provides a base for vapor deposition of metal and protects the base material and the like from heat during vapor deposition to realize a metallic luster. Also, after transfer printing, it is transferred and transferred to the transfer target together with the metal vapor deposition layer, and it is positioned above the metal vapor deposition layer and adheres to the metal vapor deposition layer to become one component of the recorded matter. The material is not particularly limited as long as it functions as a protective layer that improves mechanical and chemical strength such as scratches and corrosion, and is transparent enough to see through the metallic luster of the metal vapor deposition layer. Examples of such a material include thermosetting resins such as alkyd resin, phenol resin, polyimide, epoxy resin, urethane resin and unsaturated polyester resin, olefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polymethylmethacrylate and polyacryl. Acrylic resin such as acid amide, styrene resin such as polystyrene, vinyl resin such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate, polyether resin such as polyoxymethylene and polyphenylene oxide, polyvinyl butyral resin, nitrocellulose resin, ethyl cellulose A thermoplastic resin such as a resin may be used.

The thickness of the vapor deposition anchor layer serves to function as a metal vapor deposition base layer and a protective layer, and is usually provided in a coating amount of 0.1 to 20 g / m ² . Further, for example, for the purpose of coloring the metal vapor-deposited layer of aluminum or the like, colorants of known colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, black and other colors can be appropriately mixed. If the thickness is less than 0.1 g / m ^2, it does not function as a vapor deposition anchor layer, and if it exceeds 20 g / m ² , foil breakage during printing becomes poor and halftone recording becomes difficult.

The peeling layer 3 and the vapor deposition anchor layer 4 described above can also be used in common. In this case, since the washes have insufficient heat resistance during vapor deposition, heat resistance, releasability from the substrate side, adhesion with the metal vapor deposition layer, foil breakage during printing, etc. Among these, those having a relatively low molecular weight and a low cohesive force can be used.

The metal vapor deposition layer 5 is a metal thin film layer formed by metalizing a metal such as aluminum, zinc, tin, chromium, gold or silver, or an alloy such as brass by vacuum deposition, sputtering or the like under vacuum such as sputtering. is there. The thickness of the metal deposition layer is usually 100 to 1000 °, preferably 200 to
The range of -600 ° is sufficient for obtaining metallic luster. If it is too thin, it does not reflect visible light to the extent that glossiness can be obtained, and if it is too thick, the foil breakage during printing deteriorates, making it unsuitable for halftone recording, and is uneconomical.

The adhesive layer 6 contains both a wax component and a resin component and uses a specific resin as the resin component. As the wax component, the microcrystalline wax mentioned as the material that can be used for the release layer,
Waxes such as carnauba wax and paraffin wax are used. Examples of the resin component include a compound group consisting of an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, an ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, and an eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer. Then, a resin of one or more copolymers selected from the compound group is used. Note that these resins are all thermoplastic resins. In addition, all of these resins are based on a copolymer with ethylene, but the copolymerization ratio is 10% by weight based on the total weight of the copolymer.
It is preferable that ethylene is in the range of 50 to 95 from the viewpoint of the balance between the adhesive force with metal and blocking resistance.

The mixing ratio of the resin component made of the above-mentioned copolymer contained in the adhesive layer to the waxes is such that the total content of the resin components to be mixed is 10 to 50 by weight with respect to the total weight of the adhesive layer. % Range is preferred. If it is less than 10%, sufficient adhesion with the metal vapor deposition layer cannot be obtained. vice versa,
If it exceeds 50%, the sensitivity is remarkably lowered, or the cohesive force is too strong, and the foil cutting property is lowered, which is not preferable.

Further, the resin component and the wax component are contained in the adhesive layer in the form of fine particles, respectively, so that the foil cutting property during printing can be generally improved. In order to make the adhesive layer contain fine particles, a dispersion of fine particles or an emulsion liquid is applied as an adhesive layer and dried at a temperature below the melting point or softening point of the particles.

The molecular weight of the copolymer, that is, the resin component, is 1,000 to 10,000 in terms of weight average molecular weight (Mw).
It is preferable to use one having a range of 0. The molecular weight of each resin component when using a plurality of resin components is also preferably within the above range. Weight average molecular weight is 10
When it is less than 00, the resin tends to fluidize even at room temperature, and the adhesive layer has a tacky feeling, so that the storage stability is deteriorated. It becomes bad and is not suitable for halftone recording.

As described above, three kinds of copolymers are preferable as the resin component for the comonomer constituting the copolymer, but even if the copolymers are composed of the same comonomer, the copolymerization ratio and the molecular weight are Since both or one of them is different, a plurality of copolymers of the same comonomer having different copolymerization ratios and different molecular weights may be mixed and used as a resin component.

When the wax component and the resin component are contained as fine particles, it is preferable that both the wax fine particles and the resin fine particles have an average particle diameter of 10 μm or less. If the average particle size exceeds 10 μm, not only will the printing sensitivity decrease, but also
It significantly reduces the foil retention of the adhesive layer.

The thickness of the adhesive layer is 0.5 to 5 g / coating amount.
m ^2, preferably in the range of 1 to 3 g / m ^2. 0.5
If it is less than g / m ² , sufficient adhesive force cannot be obtained,
Poor sensitivity. If it exceeds 5 g / m ² , excessive energy is required to melt the adhesive layer, and foil breakage is also reduced, which is not preferable.

In order to form a peeling layer, a vapor deposition anchor layer, an adhesive layer, a back surface layer, etc. on a substrate, it is conventional to prepare a coating liquid by dissolving or dispersing the constituent material of the layer in a solvent such as an organic solvent. It can be formed by known gravure coating, gravure reverse coating, roll coating, knife coating, and many other known coating means. In the case of a layer mainly composed of wax, coating means such as hot melt coating and hot lacquer coating can also be used.

The thermal transfer recording element constructed as described above is
Although it can be used as a transfer foil for a conventional hot stamping method, the characteristic of the element capable of thermal transfer of a minute pattern is that the image of characters, patterns, etc. is an aggregate of minute patterns as a thermal transfer ribbon used in a conventionally known thermal head. Is more effectively used in the field of printing and recording as, and metallic gloss can be imparted to these images. Further, as a density gradation expression method, an intermediate density can also be reproduced by expressing the density gradation by the size of the area of the transfer portion due to the size of the halftone dot, that is, by using the area gradation. In addition, as a method of the area gradation, a screen pattern or the like known in the printing field using a grain, a brick pattern, or the like can be used in addition to a halftone dot. In particular, when the above-mentioned components used for the adhesive layer are contained as fine particles, it is most suitable for area gradation recording which requires high resolution. Then, the recorded matter having the metallic luster of the present invention can be obtained as described above. The recorded matter has a structure in which a vapor deposition anchor layer, a metal vapor deposition layer, and an adhesive layer are laminated on a transfer target such as paper from at least the front side in the recording portion,
A part or all of the release layer in the thickness direction is laminated on the vapor deposition anchor layer depending on the presence or absence of the release layer of the thermal transfer recording element or the release mode of the release layer.

Next, the operation of the thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention will be described. Since a resin component of a specific copolymer and a wax component are used in the adhesive layer, the adhesive force of the adhesive layer (metal vapor deposition) is used. Layer and adherend) and cohesive force are well balanced, printing sensitivity is good, and characters and patterns can be recorded as an aggregate of minute patterns by a thermal head. Furthermore, since it is possible to record a minute pattern, it is possible to perform halftone tone recording by area gradation. Further, when the resin component and the wax component are used as fine particles, the performance of area gradation recording which requires high resolution is improved. And
As a result, a recorded matter having a metallic luster and a recorded matter having a halftone tone density expression can be obtained.

[0035]

EXAMPLES Next, the thermal transfer recording element of the present invention and the recorded matter obtained therefrom will be described more specifically by way of Examples and Comparative Examples. In the text, “part” is based on weight unless otherwise specified.

Example 1 A polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 9 μm was used as a base material, and one surface of the polyethylene terephthalate film was made of a silicone-modified polyester.
The same applies to the following) 0.2 g / m ² back layer, and a release layer made of carnauba wax having a thickness of 0.5 g / m ^{2 on} the other surface,
A vapor deposition anchor layer made of poly (methyl methacrylate) having a thickness of 0.5 g / m ² is formed by a coating method, and a metal vapor deposition layer of aluminum having a thickness of 500 Å is further formed on the vapor deposition anchor layer by a vacuum vapor deposition method. On the metal vapor deposition layer,
An adhesive layer having a thickness of 2 g / m ² having the following composition is formed by a coating method,
A thermal transfer recording element having the metallic luster of the present invention was obtained.

Composition of adhesive layer Carnauba wax 60 parts Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (weight average molecular weight 1500) 40 parts

<< Examples 2-10, Comparative Examples 1-3 >>
In Example 1, only the composition of the adhesive layer was changed as shown in Table 1, and thermal transfer recording elements of Examples 2 to 10 and Comparative examples 1 to 3 were obtained.

[0039]

[Table 1] [Note] Wax component / CW: Carnauba wax. PW: Paraffin wax Resin component / EVA: Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer EAA: Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer EMAA: Ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer PAE: Polyacrylic acid ester. PA: Polyamide resin

Example 11 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Adhesive layer composition Carnauba wax 60 parts Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (weight average molecular weight 15000) 40 parts

Example 12 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Composition of adhesive layer Carnauba wax fine particles (average particle size 0.2 μm) 60 parts Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer fine particles 40 parts (average particle size 60 nm, weight average molecular weight 15,000)

Example 13 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Adhesive layer composition Paraffin wax fine particles (average particle size 0.2 μm) 60 parts Ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer fine particles 40 parts (average particle size 1 μm, weight average molecular weight 15,000)

Example 14 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Adhesive layer composition Paraffin wax fine particles (average particle size 0.2 μm) 80 parts Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer fine particles 20 parts (average particle size 6 μm, weight average molecular weight 80,000)

Example 15 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Composition of adhesive layer Carnauba wax fine particles (average particle size 1 μm) 40 parts Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer fine particles 60 parts (average particle size 60 nm, weight average molecular weight 4000)

Example 16 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Composition of adhesive layer Carnauba wax fine particles (average particle diameter 12 μm) 40 parts Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer fine particles 60 parts (average particle diameter 60 nm, weight average molecular weight 800)

Example 17 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Composition of adhesive layer Carnauba wax fine particles (average particle size 1 μm) 40 parts Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer fine particles 60 parts (average particle size 15 μm, weight average molecular weight 15000)

Example 18 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Composition of adhesive layer Carnauba wax fine particles (average particle size 0.2 μm) 50 parts Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer fine particles 10 parts (average particle size 60 nm, weight average molecular weight 10000) Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer 40 parts

Comparative Example 4 A thermal transfer recording element having metallic luster was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Adhesive layer composition Carnauba wax fine particles (average particle size 1 μm) 100 parts

Comparative Example 5 A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the adhesive layer had the following composition. Adhesive layer composition Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer fine particles 100 parts (average particle size 60 nm, weight average molecular weight 15,000)

<< Performance Evaluation >> The performance evaluation of the thermal transfer recording elements of the above-mentioned Examples and Comparative Examples was carried out by using a mirror-coated paper as the material to be transferred and a thermal head of 2 manufactured by Kyocera Corporation.
A line type head of 00 dpi was used to carry out as follows.

Printing Sensitivity (Transferability) : ⊚ when there is no print omission when solid printing is performed, ○ when there is a print omission that does not cause a problem, Δ when the print omission is very noticeable Those that were almost impossible to print were marked with x.

Foil break during printing : ⊚ when fine lines can be reproduced when printing fine lines of 200 dpi, ∘, when adjacent fine lines are partially connected but not problematic, between adjacent fine lines When the connection was conspicuous, it was evaluated as Δ, and when the thin line could not be reproduced at all, it was evaluated as ×.

[0053] storage stability: In 1 Inch Paper Core winding core after leaving for one week under an environment of temperature 45 ° C. Humidity 85% RH the winding of 100m in those blocking is not observed at all ◎, the printing If there is blocking that does not affect the print quality, it is evaluated as ◯, and if there is blocking that the print is affected, it is evaluated as Δ.

[0054]

[Table 2]

[0055]

[Table 3]

<< Examples 19 to 24, Comparative Examples 6 to 8 >> Using the thermal transfer recording elements of Example 5, Example 12, and Comparative Example 3, mirror-coated paper was used as the material to be transferred, and the above thermal head was used as the thermal head. Using the same head as that described in the performance evaluation, 25%, 50%, and 75% halftone dot gradation printing was performed to obtain a recorded matter. In addition, the performance evaluation of reproducibility of halftone tone is ◎ for good gradation expression, ○ if there is some omission or collapse but it does not pose a problem, △ if the omission or collapse is noticeable, floor Those that cannot express key expressions were marked with x.

[0057]

[Table 4]

[0058]

As described above, in the thermal transfer recording element having metallic luster of the present invention, since the adhesive layer contains a specific resin in particular, the adhesive force and cohesive force of the adhesive layer can be optimized, and printing can be performed. Excellent sensitivity, print quality, and storage stability. As a result, it is possible to transfer and record an aggregate of minute patterns having metallic luster by a thermal head, and it is excellent in halftone reproducibility due to area gradation. In particular, when the adhesive layer contains specific fine particles, the performance of high resolution recording of area gradation is further improved. Further, the recorded matter of the present invention obtained from the thermal transfer recording element has metallic luster and is excellent in halftone reproducibility.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an example of a thermal transfer recording element of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermal Transfer Recording Element 2 Base Material 3 Release Layer 4 Vapor Deposition Anchor Layer 5 Metal Vapor Deposition Layer 6 Adhesive Layer 7 Back Layer

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vapor deposition anchor layer, a metal vapor deposition layer, and an adhesive layer are provided on at least one surface of a base material, and the adhesive layer is used together with a wax component for ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer and ethylene-methacrylic acid. A thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster, containing at least one resin component selected from the group of compounds consisting of a copolymer and an eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer. 2. The adhesive layer contains a wax component and a resin component as fine particles.
The thermal transfer recording element described. 3. An adhesive layer containing at least one resin component selected from the group consisting of ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers and eletin-vinyl acetate copolymers. The thermal transfer recording element having a metallic luster according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the total content is 10 to 50% by weight with respect to the total weight of the adhesive layer. 4. An adhesive layer containing at least one resin component selected from the group consisting of ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer and eletin-vinyl acetate copolymer. The thermal transfer recording element having metallic luster according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each weight average molecular weight is 1,000 to 100,000. 5. The thermal transfer recording element with metallic luster according to claim 2, wherein the average particle diameter of the fine particles of each of the washes component and the resin component is 10 μm or less. 6. A recorded matter having a metallic luster, in which an image is recorded by using the thermal transfer recording element according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A recorded matter having a metallic luster, wherein halftone recording is performed by area gradation of an image using the thermal transfer recording element according to any one of claims 1 to 5.