JPH1058638A - Sublimable transfer textile printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sublimable transfer textile printing method for forming highly minute image having excellent fixability and fastness on arbitrary print members of small number by a simple method. SOLUTION: A mirror image picture signal is formed from an original picture signal by a picture signal processor, ink containing dispersed fine particles including thermal diffusivity and/or thermal sublimable dye is injected to an ink receptive sheet surface to form an image based on the image picture signal by an ink jet print head using the ink, thereby forming a sublimable transfer textile original plate. And, an arbitrary print medium and the original plate are superposed and heated in this state, and sublimable dye is thermally diffused and/or thermally sublimated and transferred from the original plate to arbitrary medium.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sublimation transfer printing method and a sublimation transfer method capable of forming a high-definition image excellent in fixability and fastness on a small number of arbitrary print media by a simple method. It relates to a printing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, a sublimation transfer printing method has been widely used as a printing method for polyester woven fabric. Usually, a pattern to be printed is printed on a transfer base paper with an ink containing resin particles containing a disperse dye to prepare a sublimation transfer printing master. Next, the original plate and the polyester woven fabric are superimposed and subjected to a heat treatment, so that the sublimable dye is separated from the resin particles and transferred onto the polyester woven fabric.

The mechanism of this transition is said to be thermal diffusion or thermal sublimation of dye molecules, or a mixture of the two. Usually, when a large number of dyed articles are made from the same pattern, a printing method that can be manufactured in large quantities and at low cost is used, and is widely used for mass dyeing of polyester woven fabric.

However, for the case where the number of dyes from the same pattern is small, or for the purpose of obtaining a dyeing result in a short time for studying a design or the like, the original plate making by the conventional printing is too expensive, and the production cost is too high. However, there is a disadvantage that the number of days required is longer.

[0005] The need for shortening the production period for the purpose of reducing the cost of small-number printing, designing, and the like is not limited to dyeing the woven fabric, but also applies to other printing objects. For example, in the case of an outer box for packaging a product, the need for producing a smaller number of copies and the need for shortening the production period have arisen in accordance with the diversification of products.

[0006] Further, there is an increasing need for shortening a period for producing a small number of copies on a metal plate or ceramics other than cloth or paper, which is another printing target. It is known to use an electrophotographic method as a printing method that meets such needs. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-216287 shows that when developing an electrostatic latent image formed on electrostatic recording paper, a sublimation transfer printing original plate can be prepared by using a liquid developer containing a disperse dye.

In JP-A-6-51591, an electrostatic latent image formed by an ion stream is developed with a wet developer in which resin particles containing a dye which melts, diffuses or sublimes by heat are dispersed. It shows that a sublimation transfer printing original plate is made.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are illustrations of a sublimation transfer printing method for preparing an original plate by the above-described electrophotographic method. In FIG. 10, a broken line A indicates a step of forming a toner image containing a sublimation dye directly on an electrostatic recording paper, and a broken line B indicates a process of transferring a toner image containing a sublimation dye onto plain paper by sublimation. 4 shows a process of preparing a transfer printing master.

The process shown in A is performed by an apparatus as shown in FIG. In FIG. 11A, first,
Electrostatic recording paper 202 coated with a dielectric recording layer
The electrostatic latent image is formed on the dielectric recording layer of the electrostatic recording paper 202 by facing a multi-stylus electrostatic recording head 221 in which a large number of recording needles are embedded and a high voltage signal is applied according to the original image signal 201. Formed (Step 203), and then the electrostatic latent image is developed by a toner roll 222 that rotates with the liquid developer placed on its peripheral surface to form a toner image (Step 3).
04). Since the liquid developer contains fine particles containing a sublimation dye, the created toner image can be used as an image of a sublimation transfer printing original plate.

The surplus developer after the completion of the development is sucked and collected by the vacuum slit 223, and is subjected to the operation of forming and developing a latent image of the next color at the next station.
In this way, a full color sublimation transfer printing master is obtained by superimposing toner images containing sublimation dyes of black, cyan, magenta and yellow.

Next, in a sublimation transfer step 209, the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the polyester woven fabric are superimposed and heated. This heat causes the sublimation dye molecules contained in the toner image to move and dye on the polyester woven fabric by thermal diffusion or thermal sublimation.

In the final step, the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the woven fabric are separated (separation step 210). No special force is required for separation because they are merely superimposed. As a result, the printed output material 211 dyed in a pattern and the used sublimation transfer printing original plate 212 are taken out.

In this printing method, since the printing is performed by dye transfer from the toner image, the sublimation transfer printing original plate must be a mirror image of the final dyed image, and the original image signal 201 is a mirror image original plate. The signal is processed as described above and sent to the printing means.

Next, the step shown in B is performed by an apparatus as shown in FIG. The electrostatic latent image forming step 205 is performed by sending the ion stream 208 according to the original image signal 201 from the ion print head 213 toward the drum 233 having the dielectric recording layer. Next toner phenomenon process 20
In step 6, a developing unit 237 is used in which a developing solution 236 is pumped up by a developing roller 235 to act.

Here, the developer 236 contains a toner in which a sublimation dye is dispersed in resin particles, and the toner is attracted to an electrostatic latent image to be developed. Transfer paper 20
7 is fed in, superimposed on the toner image, and the transfer roller 2
The toner image is transferred to the transfer paper 207 by the action of the pressing force and the transfer bias voltage by 38, and the toner image transfer step 208 is completed.

Subsequent sublimation transfer step 209 and separation step 21
0 is the same as A. In the step B, the toner image is transferred once to the transfer paper, and the transferred image is re-transferred in the sublimation transfer step, so that the image formed on the drum 233 is not a mirror image but a normal image. It is.

However, when a printer or a copying machine configured to form a normal image on transfer paper by transferring a toner image is used, it is necessary to perform a mirror inversion process on a signal so as to obtain a mirror image on the transfer paper.

The method of producing a sublimation transfer printing original plate by an electrophotographic method and performing printing does not require a printing plate unlike conventional printing, so that printing of a small number of copies is inexpensive. In addition, there is an advantage that the time required for manufacturing can be greatly reduced.

[0019]

However, the above-described electrophotographic process has a drawback that the apparatus is complicated and it is difficult to stabilize the image quality. In particular, an apparatus for producing a full-color sublimation transfer printing original plate is complicated and expensive.
Further, since the resolution of the image is determined uniformly by the print head, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a high-definition image.

Although the standard width of the woven fabric is about 80 cm, a full-color electrophotographic apparatus capable of producing such a wide original is particularly large and expensive.

Further, it is preferable that the sublimation transfer printing can be applied to a material other than the woven fabric. However, the above-mentioned drawbacks naturally apply to printing on a material other than the woven fabric. A simple and high-quality printing method for printing on a print medium is not known.

As a special example, in a paper container or a paper box paper coated with a polyester resin, the paper is cut into the shape of a developed view of the box and / or embossed for a folding line. There is a need to print a required small number of prints when needed, but there is no known method for easily performing fine prints on such a medium to form an image having excellent fixability and fastness.

The sublimation transfer printing method of the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and its object is to improve the fixing property and the fastness to any small number of print members by a simple method. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sublimation transfer printing method capable of forming an excellent high-definition image.

[0024]

In order to achieve the above object, a sublimation transfer printing method according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a step of producing a mirror image image signal from an original image signal by an image signal processing apparatus, By using an ink jet print head that uses ink in which fine particles containing a thermo- and sublimable dye are dispersed, based on the above-mentioned mirror image signal, the ink is ejected onto the ink receiving sheet surface to form an image. A step of preparing a sublimation transfer printing original plate, and heating in a state in which an arbitrary print medium and the above-described sublimation transfer printing original plate are overlapped, heat diffusion and / or heat of the sublimation dye from the above-mentioned sublimation transfer printing original plate to the above-mentioned arbitrary printing medium Sublimation transfer process (corresponding to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 9).

According to the sublimation transfer printing method according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the sublimation transfer printing master is manufactured using the ink jet print head, a large screen master can be simplified using a small print head. Can be created in any way. Also, according to inkjet printing,
It is possible to form a small-diameter print dot while suppressing the spread of the ink deposited by the surface treatment of the ink receiving sheet. By arranging small-diameter print dots at high density, a high-definition sublimation transfer master can be created.

The sublimation transfer printing method according to the second invention is directed to the sublimation transfer printing method according to the first invention, wherein the ink is ejected by using an ink jet print head of a method without heating the ink (see FIG. 1, corresponding to FIG. 2).

According to the sublimation transfer printing method according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate an obstacle caused by the interaction between the print head and the ink containing the sublimation dye. That is, the sublimation dye is prevented from being released from the resin particles due to the ink being heated by the print head, and the quality of the sublimation dye is prevented from being deteriorated to hinder normal transfer printing. It is prevented from happening.

In the sublimation transfer printing method according to the third invention, in the sublimation transfer printing method according to the first invention, a material obtained by applying a polyester resin coating process on the surface of a base material is used as the print medium. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.)

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the third aspect of the present invention, other than woven cloth, a substrate that is difficult or difficult to print by conventional printing or printing methods, for example, a thick large steel plate, A small number of copies can be printed at low cost on ceramics such as tiles, uneven surfaces, and the like by a simple method. In this case, the polyester resin coated surface becomes a good dyeing layer of the sublimation dye, so that an image can be formed on the material without losing the texture of the material, and since the dyeing layer is used, the image is fixed. , It will be more robust.

The sublimation transfer printing method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the sublimation transfer printing method according to the third aspect of the present invention, wherein a material obtained by coating a paper surface with a polyester resin is used as the print medium ( 3 (d), FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9).

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the fourth invention, the sublimation transfer printing method comprises paper coated in advance,
Printing or printing on a coated surface of a material or the like used for a paper container becomes possible. In other words, polyester resin is usually put to practical use as a surface coating material for paper containers. According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the polyester coat surface is favorably dyed with the sublimation dye, it is possible to perform a print printing functioning also as a surface protection function.

A sublimation transfer printing method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the sublimation transfer printing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the print medium is cut in advance into an outer peripheral shape in a developed plan view of a paper container. (Corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5).

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to print on a medium having a shape that is difficult to pass through a printer with a conventional printer, such as a print medium previously cut into the outer shape of a paper container. Printing becomes possible. In other words, the image formation on the print medium surface is a simple process of superimposing and heating the sublimation transfer printing original plate, and since there is no scanning by the print head or sub-scan feed of the medium, etc. An image can be formed on a material or the like without any trouble.

A sublimation transfer printing method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the sublimation transfer printing method according to the fourth aspect, wherein the print medium is preliminarily embossed along an assembly folding line of a paper container. Is used (corresponding to FIGS. 5 and 6).

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to print on a material which is difficult to print with ordinary contact-type printing means, such as a material subjected to embossing along a bending mark. And In other words, since dye transfer to the print medium is also performed by thermal sublimation of the dye, even if there is a small space between the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the print medium, it is possible to transfer the dye without hindrance and form an image. .

A sublimation transfer printing method according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the sublimation transfer printing method according to the sixth aspect, wherein the sublimation transfer printing step comprises the step of: This is performed by pressing against the print medium surface (corresponding to FIGS. 6, 8, and 9).

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, an image can be formed more finely on the embossed portion of the material that has been subjected to embossing along the folding line. That is, even when the sublimation transfer printing original plate flexes and approaches the concave portion of the embossed portion, a finer image can be formed in the concave portion of the embossed portion.

The sublimation transfer printing method according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is a method of producing a mirror image signal from an original image signal by an image signal processing device, and a method of producing fine particles containing a heat diffusive and / or heat sublimable dye. A step of forming an image on a sheet surface by a printer using dispersed ink or toner on the basis of the above-mentioned mirror image signal to form a sublimation transfer printing master, and applying a polyester resin coating on the surface of a paper base. The polyester coating surface of the printed medium and the sublimation transfer printing original plate in a state where they are overlaid and conveyed through a predetermined heating and conveying unit,
The method comprises the steps of subjecting a sublimation dye to thermal diffusion and / or thermal sublimation transfer from the sublimation transfer printing original plate to the print medium, and separating the print medium and the sublimation transfer printing original plate.

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the eighth invention, a high-definition image can be easily and continuously formed on specially processed paper having a polyester resin coating on the surface of the paper. In other words, a print image obtained by a normal printer has poor ink absorption and fixability, and a print image having excellent fastness can be easily formed on polyester-coated paper having low image fastness.

Further, according to the sublimation transfer printing method according to the ninth invention, in the sublimation transfer printing method according to the eighth invention, the print medium is preliminarily cut into an outer peripheral shape in a developed plan view of a paper container. (Figure 4,
(Corresponding to FIG. 9).

According to the sublimation transfer printing method according to the ninth aspect, individual small lot printing can be performed on a general-purpose paper container having a standard outer peripheral shape. In other words, if a cut material before printing is prepared, only a required amount of printing can be performed at a required time, and a print having a cut and uneven outer peripheral shape that is difficult to be conveyed by ordinary printing means. Printing can be performed on a medium without any problem.

A sublimation transfer printing method according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the sublimation transfer printing method according to the eighth aspect, wherein the print medium is embossed in advance along the assembly folding line of the container. (Fig. 5
Corresponding to).

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to assemble a printing medium having a folding embossing process at a predetermined position for assembling into a general-purpose paper box. A small lot can be printed. That is, although the embossed concave portion is not in contact with the sublimation transfer printing original plate sheet, it is heated in an approaching state, so that the sublimation dye molecules move through the space and an image can be formed also in the embossed concave portion. Therefore, printing can be performed without any trouble even on a print medium on which embossing has been performed in advance.

A sublimation transfer printing method according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the sublimation transfer printing method according to the eighth aspect, wherein the sublimation transfer printing original plate is formed by accommodating a plurality of screens on a long sheet. In the above-described sublimation transfer printing step, the sheet can be conveyed in a continuous sheet state (corresponding to FIG. 9).

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method according to the eleventh aspect, the sublimation transfer printing process can be performed efficiently, and small lot printing can be made practical. That is, the sublimation transfer printing original is sent in a continuous sheet state to the transfer heating and conveying unit, and continuous sublimation transfer printing can be performed by merging the feeding of the print medium, thereby realizing an efficient sublimation transfer printing method. Can do things.

[0046]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, in a first embodiment of the present invention, a process of producing a mirror image image signal from an original image signal by an image signal processing device, and fine particles containing a heat diffusion and / or heat sublimation dye are provided. A step of forming a sublimation transfer printing original plate by forming an image by ejecting ink on an ink-receiving sheet surface based on the mirror image image signal by an ink-jet print head using an ink in which Heating the print medium and the sublimation transfer printing original plate in a superposed state, and thermally diffusing and / or sublimating and transferring the sublimation dye from the sublimation transfer printing original plate to the arbitrary print medium.

Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment. Reference number 1 on the right side of the figure
4 to 4 indicate the names of the respective steps, and reference numbers 6 and 7 in the middle are used.
Reference numerals 9, 11, 12 denote means for realizing the process, and reference numerals 5, 7, 8, 10, 13 on the left and reference numeral 14 on the lower side denote media, materials, inputs, output materials, etc. relating to each process. ing.

First, a mirror image signal generating step 1
Is a step of inputting a design to be printed as a print original image signal 5 and converting it into a mirror image by an image signal processing means 6. The reason why such conversion is necessary is that the original prepared by the next inkjet printing means 9 is an intermediate output for sublimation transfer printing, and the image is mirror-reversed in the next sublimation transfer printing step. This is for preliminarily setting the original plate as a mirror image.

Normally, since the original image signal is handled in the form of a raster image, it is written to the buffer memory in units of lines or areas, and the mirror image is created by reversing the reading order of the original image signals in units of lines.

When the mirror image function is incorporated in the ink jet printing means, there is no need to provide a separate signal processing circuit. In a head-scanning type printer, a mirror image is printed if writing is performed with the head scanning direction reversed, but the arrangement of signals between a plurality of sub-scanning direction lines is accompanied by writing in the reverse scanning. And the timing must be adjusted, and such processing is equivalent to image signal processing for a mirror image.

Next, in a sublimation transfer printing original plate preparation step 2, a sublimation transfer printing original plate is prepared by an ink jet printing means 9 using a sublimation dye ink 7 containing a sublimation dye as an ink. As the ink jet printing means 9, a print head having various operating principles applied to a known ink jet printer and a configuration of a printer using the print head can be used.

For example, it is called a continuous type, and selectively charges an ink flow continuously ejected from nozzles in accordance with an image signal, deflects a flight direction by an electric field, and forms an image with uncharged ink particles. In addition, if the charged ink is of a recovery type, fine ink particles can be formed, thereby making it possible to produce a high-definition sublimation transfer printing original plate.

Further, there is a printer called an on-demand type which is most widely put to practical use. The print head of this printer has a partitioned ink chamber and nozzle openings, and has a pressure generating means in the ink chamber to discharge ink only from necessary nozzles in accordance with an image signal. In this case, a print head provided with tens to hundreds of nozzles is usually moved and scanned in the main scanning direction to feed the print medium in the sub-scanning direction.

This type of printhead is very advantageous for application in the sublimation transfer printing method of the present invention. First, it is not so difficult to set the moving scanning width in the main scanning direction to 80 cm or 160 cm, which is the unit of the width of the woven fabric, and it is extremely suitable for application to sublimation transfer printing for woven fabric. Second, printheads are typically made to support print dot densities of 300 to 400 DPI, but can be made to support print dot densities of 600 to 800 DPI by optimizing the surface treatment layer of the ink receiving sheet. A fine print dot diameter can be obtained. If such small-diameter dots are obtained, the dot arrangement density can be increased to a high density of 600 to 800 DPI, a high-definition sublimation transfer printing original plate can be produced, and full-color printing is extremely easy. .

As means for obtaining the ejection pressure of the ink, a type utilizing the vaporization and expansion force of water in the ink by instantaneous heating of the heater, or a method in which a solid ink is melted by heat and ejected with a piezo deformation force. There is a type, but because the ink is degraded to give heat to the ink, or the sublimation dye separates and may cause a failure in the print head, it is preferable to obtain the ejection force without heating the ink It is preferable to use the print head of (1).

Specifically, the above-mentioned continuous type ink jet print head or an on-demand type print head using a deforming force due to a piezo electric signal using liquid ink can be applied as a non-heating type ink jet means.

Next, as the ink to be supplied to the ink jet print head, in this embodiment, an ink is used in which fine particles containing a thermal sublimation dye in which dye molecules are diffused or sublimated by heat are dispersed in a liquid.

The dye exhibiting heat sublimation is called a disperse dye and is insoluble in water. Therefore, the dye is held in dye holding particles such as resin particles and dispersed in a liquid. Dyes suitable for the purpose of this embodiment are dyes that exhibit sublimability at several hundred degrees Celsius, such as azo and azo derivatives,
Diarylmethane type, trialmethane type, thiazole type, methine type, azomethine type, xanthene type, anthraquinone derivative, quinophthalone derivative, styrodipyran type, indolinospyropyran type, fluoran type, styryl type, di or triphenylmethane type, oxazine type, Dyes such as triazine, cyclidine, diazine, and rhodamine lactam are preferably used.

These dyes may be used alone or as a mixture of two or more. These dyes are contained in fine resin particles and dispersed in a liquid to prepare an ink.
As an example of the formulation, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer is used as a resin, and dissolved by heating in tetrahydrofuran. Separately, the disperse dye is dispersed in tetrahydrofuran using an ultrasonic homogenizer. Both 60-80
The mixture was stirred and mixed while maintaining the temperature at 0 ° C, and cooled to a high boiling point saturated hydrocarbon, such as Exxsol D from Exxson.
130 while being dispersed with an ultrasonic homogenizer,
Granulation is performed using the solubility of the resin. Note that a dispersion stabilizer or a fixing agent may be added as needed.

As another production method, a heating solution in which methyl methacrylate is dissolved in benzoyl peroxide is dropped and stirred in an isoparaffinic hydrocarbon solvent to obtain a viscous resin solution, and a disperse dye and isoparaffinic hydrocarbon are added. The mixture is uniformly mixed and kneaded with a ball mill to obtain an ink stock solution. Finally, the ink is diluted to a predetermined concentration with a high-boiling saturated hydrocarbon solvent, and if necessary, a dispersion stabilizer and a fixing agent are added to obtain an ink.

The above is an example of a high-boiling-point solvent type ink. A water-based ink can also be produced by the same method, but in any case, the dye is contained in the resin particles.

The sublimation dye ink 7 containing fine particles containing the sublimation dye configured as described above is applied to the ink jet printing means 9. Then, an ink receptive sheet 8 having ink receptivity is supplied.

It is preferable that the ink receiving sheet 8 is based on paper. It is preferable to provide a coating layer on the surface of the paper base so that the shape of the formed ink dots is round and has an appropriate spread. By including porous particles such as silica in the coating layer, the ink absorbency can be increased and the print dot diameter can be controlled.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the above-described ink jet printing means 9. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 22 denotes an ink receptive sheet, which is supplied from a supply roll 21 and passes through a guide roller 23;
The ink receptive sheet 22 stretched over the nip portion between the transport roller 25 and the pinch roller 26 through 4 faces the ink jet print head 28.

The ink jet print head 28 is held by a movable scanning table 30 on guide rails 31a and 31b, and reciprocates in the scanning direction by a wire 34 stretched between pulleys 33a (33b). 35 is a main scanning motor and 27 is a sub-scanning motor.

The rotation of the main scanning motor 35 causes the print head 28 to reciprocate to form an image on the ink receiving sheet 22 using the sublimation dye ink. The image obtained by one main scan has a narrow band shape corresponding to the nozzle array width of the print head 28. The sub-scanning motor 27 is rotated stepwise to perform sub-scan feed corresponding to the width of this band. The image forming area is sequentially enlarged.

Typically, print head 28 is 360D
It has a normal print mode that prints at the dot density of PI, and JIS A0 width (840 mm) in the main scanning direction
Is configured to be printable.

In the high image quality mode, the drive of the print head 28 and the change of the sub-scan feed can be changed so that a dot density of 720 DPI is realized in the sub-scan direction. In the former print mode, the ink receptive sheet 2 has a print dot diameter of about 100 microns.
In the latter print mode, the ink receptive sheet 22 having a print dot diameter of about 50 microns is applied.

Further, as an intermediate print mode, a print mode called semi 720 DPI, in which dots are thinned every other length and width from the dot position of 720 DPI, can be provided. In this case, an ink receiving sheet that achieves a print dot diameter of about 70 microns is used.

As described above, the ink jet printing means 9
Then, a mirror image is formed on the ink receiving sheet 22 by applying a sublimation dye ink to the image signal of the mirror image and a sublimation transfer printing original plate can be produced.

Next, the sublimation transfer printing process 3 will be described. In this step, the sublimation transfer printing master prepared in the sublimation transfer printing master preparation step 2 and the printing medium 10 are superimposed and heated to a temperature of several hundred degrees by the heating means 11.

A typical print medium is a woven polyester fabric. In the case of a polyester woven fabric, the polyester woven fabric and the cut sublimation transfer printing original sheet are stacked and sandwiched in a flat heating press table so as to be processed on a sheet-by-sheet basis, and heat treatment is performed.

The heating time varies depending on the thermal characteristics of the sublimation dye. In the case of a dye requiring high fastness after printing, a high heating temperature and a long heating time are required. As described later, a print medium in which a surface of a base material is coated with polyester may be used, and the configuration of the heating means differs depending on the properties of the base material.

Next, the separation step 4 as the final step will be described. When the sublimation transfer printing original taken out of the heating means 11 is separated from the printing medium by the separating means 12, a final printed output 14 and a used original 13 are obtained. Since the two are not bonded, no separating force by the separating means 12 is required. In addition, it is possible to separate them manually, but in the case of an automated device, it is preferable to provide a means for transporting each device in a predetermined direction.

The sublimation transfer printing method of this embodiment has been described above. However, as compared with the electrophotographic method used in conventional small lot printing, the apparatus can be made smaller and simpler. Particularly, it is suitable as a simple means for realizing full color.

The standard size of a woven fabric, such as 80 cm, 1 cm,
Even in the case of performing printing of a wide width such as 60 cm, it is possible to use a means that does not increase the size and complexity of the main scan of the inkjet print head simply by setting the moving width so as to cover the size.

Also, 600, 720, 800, which have not been achieved by electrostatic recording using a multi-stylus head, etc.
High-definition printing such as DPI can be easily realized by optimizing the ink-jet printing means and the ink-receiving sheet corresponding thereto.

The polyester woven fabric is a suitable medium for carrying out the sublimation transfer printing of the present embodiment. In addition, by using a material in which the surface of the base material is coated with a polyester resin, the woven fabric is used. The application range of the sublimation transfer printing of the embodiment can be greatly expanded.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are diagrams showing examples of print media used in the sublimation transfer printing method according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 40 denotes a metal plate sublimation transfer printing medium, and reference numeral 42 denotes a base metal plate such as aluminum, stainless steel, or copper, and a transparent polyester resin coating layer 41 on the surface thereof. Is provided. Therefore, when used for decorative purposes, it is possible to form an image while maintaining the light selection unique to the metal.

In order to obtain a more decorative effect, it is more effective to apply a polyester resin coating on a metal surface which has been subjected to hairline processing, satin finish processing, engraving and the like. FIG.
In (b), reference numeral 43 denotes a ceramics sublimation transfer printing medium. 44 is a ceramic plate such as a tile plate, and 41 is a polyester resin coating layer provided on the surface thereof. Decorative images, such as arbitrary multi-color images and gradation images, which cannot be formed by conventional firing of ceramics, can be formed by sublimation printing transfer.

Next, reference numeral 45 in FIG. 3C denotes a sublimation transfer printing woven fabric, and the base material 46 is a non-polyester fiber.
There is no compatibility with sublimation transfer printing by itself. Therefore, the polyester resin coating layer 41 is provided on the surface of the non-polyester woven fabric 46.

The coating is not limited to a thick film, but may be a light coating that slightly covers the surface of each fiber. In addition, as a coating method, besides a method of spray coating from one surface of the woven fabric, a method of dipping the whole woven fabric in a treatment liquid and drying may be used.

The sublimation printing transfer method of the present embodiment can be effectively applied to a thick material having a rough surface such as a canvas or knitted woven fabric. Next, FIG.
The medium indicated by 47 in (d) is a polyester resin-coated paper. The surface of a paper base 48 is coated with a polyester resin coating 41. Such a coating medium is a material widely used as an outer box for paper containers, particularly foods, household goods, sundries and the like.

Conventionally, since this kind of material is provided with a polyester coating for preventing stains and increasing water resistance, ink cannot be absorbed by a printing means such as an ink jet, and an image is formed by printing. Was.

Exceptionally, when printing a production number or the like, MEK is used.
Although numbering was sometimes performed with an industrial inkjet printer using a highly volatile solvent ink such as (methyl ethyl ketone), high-definition images, full-color images, and the like could not be easily printed. However, by applying the print medium in the sublimation printing and transferring method of the present embodiment, an image having high robustness can be easily created.

When the print medium coated with the polyester resin is used for various uses such as a paper container, there is a demand for changing only the print pattern in a box having the same shape. In a conventional small lot printing means such as an ink jet printer, in addition to the problem that the ink itself does not absorb and dry in the medium, the medium previously cut into the outer shape of the developed plan view of the container is sent to the printer without damage. The print head could not reach the medium that could not be conveyed and did not have a completely planar shape, and the print gap could not be changed to perform printing.

On the other hand, according to the sublimation transfer printing method of the present embodiment, since the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the printing medium are superposed and heated to perform transfer, printing on such a medium is also possible. That is, in the sublimation transfer printing method using a print medium in which a polyester resin coating is applied to the surface of the paper, the print medium is preliminarily cut into an outer shape in a developed plan view of a paper container, and is characterized by using I do.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a developed plan view of the paper container. Reference numeral 150 denotes a developed view outer peripheral line. As described above, since the tongue-shaped protruding portions are located at various positions on the outer periphery, the tongue-shaped portions are easily raised. Therefore, in a head moving scanning type ink jet printer or the like, printing is difficult because the head hits the raised tongue.

On the other hand, in the sublimation transfer printing method of the present embodiment, the sublimation transfer printing original prepared in advance is overlapped with the printing medium, and the two are heated and transferred without relative movement. Even if there is, printing can be performed without any trouble.

Further, as a preferable feature of the sublimation transfer printing method of the present embodiment, even if there is a slight gap between the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the print medium, the dye can be transferred without any trouble. Utilizing this feature, in the above-described sublimation transfer printing method using a print medium having a polyester resin coating on the surface of paper, a print medium which has been embossed in advance along the assembly folding line of the paper container is used as the print medium. To be used.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show an embossed paper container according to an embodiment. FIG. 5A is a developed plan view and FIG. 5B is a sectional view. Reference numeral 48 denotes a paper base, 41 denotes a polyester resin coating layer, reference numeral 150 denotes an outer peripheral line of a developed view, and reference numeral 151 denotes an embossing line.

Although the embossing depth is small, the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the concave portion cannot be in direct contact with each other. However, when heating is carried out with a slight gap, the dye is transferred by the sublimation phenomenon, and although a slight decrease in the density is observed, printing can be performed on the embossed concave portion without any trouble.

In order to perform sublimation transfer printing more favorably on the embossed paper base by the embossed portion of the print medium coated with the polyester resin, the sublimation is performed by a heating roller having an elastic surface in the sublimation transfer printing step. More preferably, the transfer printing original plate is pressed against the surface of the print medium.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the heating means 11 used for the above-described sublimation transfer printing. In FIG.
Reference numeral 50 denotes a heating roller, in which a heater 53 is provided in a metal core 51, and a heat-resistant elastic layer 52 such as silicon rubber is provided on the surface of the metal core 51.

Reference numeral 48 is a paper base, and reference numeral 41 is a polyester resin coating layer.
And the polyester resin coating layer 41 constitute a print medium. Reference numeral 54 is an embossed portion. As shown in FIG. 6, the embossed portion 54 is provided over the entire width of the print medium.
When the thickness of the sublimation 0 is reduced, the sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 can be curved along the embossed portion processing portion 54 and can extend along the print medium surface.

In this way, it is possible to carry out sublimation transfer printing while suppressing a decrease in image density at the embossed portion. Conventionally, a method of forming a print image using a sublimation dye on a paper or plastic sheet using a thermal print head has been put to practical use as a dye diffusion transfer method (Dye Difusion Transfer). In this method, an ink sheet provided with a coating layer containing a sublimable dye is superimposed on an image receiving sheet, and the sublimation dye is heated by a thermal printhead from the transfer film side in accordance with an image signal in units of printhead elements. This is a method of forming an image by diffusing and moving to an image receiving sheet surface.

When a full-color image is created, it takes a long time to create a print because images are sequentially superimposed using three color ink films or four color ink films including black.
The disadvantage is that running costs are high because the ink sheet of each size of the screen size is consumed for each print, and it is difficult to obtain a wide print because the maximum print width is determined by the length of the thermal print head.
There were restrictions.

As described above, a medium in which a paper base is coated with a polyester coating can be printed in principle by the dye diffusion transfer method using the above-mentioned thermal print head, but is inexpensive like a paper container. This cannot be applied when a print is required. In addition, since it is configured to perform printing while transporting the print medium while overlapping the ink sheet on the print head part,
It has been difficult to print on a print medium such as a cut paper container material in a developed plan view having a tongue-shaped protruding portion.

Further, in the case of a print medium having an embossed bent edge for assembly, the dye may not be transferred to the embossed concave portion because the dye is not transferred by the degree of heating by the print head, so that printing may not be performed. .

In the thermal print head, since the heating effect is not enhanced, a dye which diffuses at a low temperature is used, so that the printed image has low robustness and can be printed on a practical paper container. Had a problem of being ineligible and had not been put to practical use.

Therefore, a second embodiment of the present invention described below eliminates these disadvantages and enables printing on a paper-based print medium coated with a polyester resin.

The sublimation transfer printing method according to the second embodiment comprises:
A step of creating a mirror image image signal from an original image signal by an image signal processing device, and a printer using ink or toner in which fine particles containing a heat diffusible and / or heat sublimable dye are dispersed; Forming a sublimation transfer printing original by forming an image on the sheet surface based on the above, and superimposing the above-mentioned sublimation transfer printing original with a polyester coating surface of a print medium in which a polyester resin coating is applied to the surface of a paper base. By passing and passing through a predetermined heating and transporting unit in the combined state, a step of thermally diffusing and / or sublimating and transferring the sublimation dye from the sublimation transfer printing original to the print medium surface, and the printing medium and the sublimation transfer printing original. And a step of separating

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the above-described second embodiment. Reference numerals 61 to 64 indicate respective steps.
Reference numerals 66, 69, 71, and 72 denote means for executing each step, and reference numerals 65, 67, 68, 70, 73, and 74 denote media or input and output materials involved in each step.

First, a mirror image image signal creating step 61
Then, the image signal processing means 66 receives the print original image signal 65 and creates a mirror image image signal. The creation of the final image is performed by transfer from the sublimation transfer printing original plate, but the printing means 69 needs image signal processing for a mirror image when creating the sublimation transfer printing original plate.

Print original image signal 6 in this embodiment
Reference numeral 5 denotes the print original image signal 5 of FIG. 1, and the image signal processing means 66 is the same as the image signal processing means 6 of FIG.

In the next sublimation transfer printing original plate making step 62, as the printing means 69, for example, the ink jet printing means 9 of FIG. 1 is used. In this case, the sublimation dye ink 7 shown in FIG.

As other printing means, an electrostatic recording means using an electrostatic recording head, an ion current recording means using an ion print head, or the like may be used. In this case, a liquid sublimation dye toner is used for development.

Further, such a developer is disclosed in detail in, for example, JP-A-5-216287 and JP-A-6-51591. The advantages of using a liquid developer are that a high-definition image can be obtained and that the image can be fixed without using heat. In the case of fixing using heat, the sublimation dye is separated, so that the function as a sublimation transfer printing original plate is lost. When an electrostatic recording head is used, for example, an image forming means as shown in FIG. 10 is used, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrostatic recording paper is developed with a liquid developer composed of a sublimation dye toner.

In the case where an ion print head is used, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the electrostatic latent image formed on the drum is developed with a liquid developer composed of a sublimation dye toner,
The created toner image is transferred onto transfer paper to form a sublimation transfer printing original plate.

Next, in the sublimation transfer printing step 63, the heating and conveying means 7 is placed in a state where the sublimation transfer printing original prepared in the previous step is superimposed on the coated surface of the polyester resin coated paper 70.
Send to 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the heating / conveying means 71. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 50 denotes a heating roller having an elastic layer 52 provided on the surface thereof, and reference numeral 55 denotes an opposing roller. The opposing roller 55 may be a roller having a metal surface, but in FIG.
7 is provided so that a thick print medium or the like can be gripped and conveyed without any trouble.

Reference numeral 90 denotes a sublimation transfer printing original plate. Reference numeral 91 denotes a print medium, which is made of polyester resin coated paper. Normally, in the sublimation printing transfer for a woven fabric, the woven fabric and the sublimation printing transfer base paper are stacked and placed on a heating transfer table, and the sheet processing is performed. As shown in the figure, the sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 and the printing medium 91 are used. The transfer can be performed efficiently by adopting a process of continuously transporting.

Next, in the separation step 64 as the final step,
The polyester resin coated paper to which the sublimation dye image has been transferred is obtained as a printed output product 74, and the sublimation transfer printing original plate is separated and removed as a used original plate 73. The separating means 72 only needs to guide the two, and it is not necessary to apply a separating force since they are not joined.

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method, high-definition printing can be easily performed on a polyester resin-coated paper, which cannot obtain an image having excellent ink fixing properties and image durability due to lack of ink receptivity in a normal printer. Images with high robustness can be created.

By the way, polyester resin-coated paper is often used as a material for paper containers and paper boxes, but there are many needs for small lot printing in paper containers and the like which are used for a variety of applications. Then, the print medium is stocked in a state where it has been cut and processed in advance in a developed plan view state of the paper container,
There is a need to print.

As a printing method that meets such needs, in this embodiment, in addition to the above-described printing method, a printing medium that has been cut in advance into an outer peripheral shape in a developed plan view of a paper container is used.

According to the above-mentioned sublimation transfer printing method, the sublimation transfer printing original prepared in advance is cut into a paper container developed drawing of a polyester resin coated paper, and then sent to a heating and conveying means to perform the transfer printing. Will be done,
An ordinary printer can form an image on a print medium having a tongue-shaped protrusion that is difficult to convey. An example of a developed plan view of the paper container is as shown in FIG.

When a polyester resin-coated paper is used as a paper container, it is necessary to emboss the bent line portion for assembling the container. For small-lot printing, it is preferable to stock a print medium that has been embossed in advance and print the stock print medium. However, in a normal printer, a printing method in which a print head is in contact with a print medium to perform printing, or a print medium is required to have ink absorbency, and a printing method that meets such needs. There was no.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that a polyester resin-coated paper which has been embossed in advance along a folding line for assembling a paper container is used as a print medium. Such an embossing example is as shown in FIG.

According to the above-described sublimation transfer printing method, a high temperature can be applied in the thermal transfer step even if there is a slight gap between the sublimation transfer printing original plate and the embossed concave portion of the print medium. The dye can move through the space and dye the embossed recesses of the print medium.

In the case where the number of prints is small, such as prints for design study, a transfer step of setting and processing each sheet may be performed. When printing two sheets, it is necessary to perform the transfer step efficiently.

For this purpose, in the present embodiment, a sublimation transfer printing original plate that is made by accommodating a plurality of screens on a long sheet is used. Will be used.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the sublimation transfer printing step 63 described above. In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes a heating roller, which comprises a heater 53, a cored bar 51, and an elastic layer 52. Reference numeral 80 denotes a backup belt unit which wraps a belt 82 between rollers 81 and 81 ', and presses and conveys a sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 and a print medium 91 made of polyester resin coated paper to the surface of the heating roller 50 by the tension of the belt 82. It is configured as follows.

The sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 is a long sheet.
A plurality of screen symbols are created on the surface, and the heating transfer unit can be stably moved and conveyed. The print medium 91 made of polyester resin-coated paper is cut into the shape of the developed plan view of the paper container in the figure, and is sent at a timing corresponding to the position of the pattern of the sublimation transfer printing original plate 90.

Thereafter, the sublimation transfer printing step 63 proceeds while moving the long heating section created by the heating roller 50 and the backup belt unit 80. The sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 having escaped from the heating roller 50 is bent and sent out at the guide roller 83, and is separated from the print medium 91 on which the sublimation dye image is formed.

By forming the sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 into a long sheet in this way, the transport mechanism of the sublimation transfer printing original plate 90 and the print medium 91 in the heating transfer section is simplified, and the operation stability is extremely high. I can do it.

[0127]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to form a high-definition image excellent in fixing property and fastness even with a wide member by a simple method. Further, full color printing can be easily performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the conventional printing method is insufficient for ink absorption, image fixability, image fastness, substrate transportability, flatness, and the like. It is possible to easily form an image on various media that cannot form a good image without any trouble.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, ordinary printing means can absorb ink, fix an image,
A good image can be formed by a simple method on a polyester resin-coated paper that cannot form a good image due to insufficient image fastness, substrate transportability, flatness, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an operation of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an inkjet printing unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print medium used in the sublimation transfer printing method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a developed plan view of a paper container.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a paper container subjected to embossing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a heating unit for sublimation transfer printing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a heating and conveying unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a sublimation transfer printing process according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional sublimation transfer printing method.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of another conventional sublimation transfer printing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mirror image image signal preparation process, 2 ... Sublimation transfer printing original plate, 3 ... Sublimation transfer printing process, 4 ... Separation process, 5 ... Print original image signal, 6 ... Image signal processing means, 7 ... Sublimation dye ink, 8 ... Ink Receptive sheet, 9: inkjet printing means, 10: print medium, 11: heating means, 12
... Separation means, 13 ... Used original plate.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A step of creating a mirror image image signal from an original image signal by an image signal processing apparatus, and an ink jet print head using an ink in which fine particles containing a heat diffusing and / or heat sublimable dye are dispersed. Based on a mirror image signal, a step of forming an image by ejecting ink onto an ink-receiving sheet surface to form an image of a sublimation transfer printing, and superimposing an arbitrary print medium and the above-described sublimation transfer printing original. A sublimation dye is thermally diffused and / or thermally sublimated transferred from the sublimation transfer printing original plate to the arbitrary print medium. 2. The sublimation transfer printing method according to claim 1, wherein a material having a surface of a base material coated with a polyester resin is used as the print medium. 3. A step of creating a mirror image image signal from an original image signal by an image signal processing device, and a printer using ink or toner in which fine particles containing a heat diffusive and / or heat sublimable dye are dispersed. A sublimation transfer printing original plate by forming an image on a sheet surface based on a mirror image signal; a polyester coating surface of a printing medium in which a polyester resin coating is applied to a paper base surface; A step of transferring the sublimation dye from the sublimation transfer printing original plate to the print medium by heat diffusion and / or heat sublimation transfer by transferring the sublimation dye from the sublimation transfer printing original plate to the print medium by superimposing the print master on the print medium; A step of separating the transfer printing original plate from the transfer printing original plate.