JPH11139005A - Laser image recording medium, laser image recording method, and paint for forming laser image recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording medium and an image forming method wherein the manufacture of the image recording medium is easy, and also, there is less soil around an etching image on the image recording medium and/or a transferred image on an image receiving sheet, and the resolution does not decrease for a laser image recording method wherein a positive image or a negative image is formed by transferring an image from an image recording medium to an image receiving sheet by using laser beams. SOLUTION: This laser image recording medium has a transfer material layer 2 comprising a film containing a polymer, being a polymer of a vinyl-based compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon radical which may be replaced by an alkyl group, and of which the weight average molecular weight is in a range of 500-100,000, and a metallic dithiolene complex coloring matter, on a supporting body 1. For this image forming method, by casting a laser beam 4 on the laser image recording medium, an image part where the film is removed at the beam cast part, and a non-image part at a non-cast part, are formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser image recording medium, a laser image recording method, and a coating material for forming a laser image recording medium. The present invention relates to a laser image recording medium capable of forming negative images individually or simultaneously, an image forming method, and a coating material for forming the laser image recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, silver salt recording materials, photosensitive recording materials, and the like have been widely used for forming images, particularly for forming images for printing. However, these methods require development using a liquid developer. is necessary. Developing treatment using a liquid developer generates waste liquid, and thus there is a concern about the effect on the environment. Therefore, there is a demand for an image forming method capable of performing a dry process that does not require a developing process using a liquid developer, and a thermal transfer image forming method has attracted attention as one of such methods.

A thermal head has been used as an image recording method in the thermal transfer image forming method. However, the resolution of the recorded image is determined mainly by the size and the degree of integration of the thermal head. There were physical limitations. For the purpose of improving the resolution, a thermal transfer image forming method using a laser beam instead of a thermal head is disclosed in JP-A-59-143657 or "New Development of Organic Functional Materials Utilizing Semiconductor Lasers" (Toray Research) Center Edition, published in 1995).

[0004] A method of forming an image by transferring a substance from a transfer sheet to an image receiving body by irradiating a laser beam is already known in the fields of color proofing and lithographic printing. Such transfer methods using laser light irradiation include:
For example, (1) JP-A-5-42764, JP-A-6-4276
Dye sublimation diffusion transfer method disclosed in JP-A-48043 and JP-A-6-143842, (2) Melt transfer method disclosed in JP-A-59-143657 and the like, (3) Special table JP-A-4-506709, JP-T-Hei-6-
510490, JP-A-6-239032,
JP-A-7-1841, JP-A-7-179074, JP-A-7-195834, JP-A-7-29
0836, JP-A-7-290837, JP-A-8-020166 and JP-A-9-501361
A laser ablation transfer method and the like disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-163, etc. are known.

[0005] In the dye sublimation diffusion transfer method, the image forming components are sublimated by heating by laser light irradiation to be in a gaseous state, and are condensed on the surface of the image receiving body and transferred to form an image. For this reason, it is essential that the image forming layer contains a sublimable component.

[0006] In the melt transfer method, an image forming component is melted by heating by laser beam irradiation, and transfer to the surface of an image receiving body occurs. In this case, a large irradiation energy and a relatively long irradiation time are required to obtain a transfer image, and a part of the light irradiation part remains in a transfer sheet, resulting in poor uniformity of a solid image in a transfer image. There is a disadvantage that. As a measure to reduce the irradiation energy required for transfer, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-161445 discloses a technique for promoting the transfer by causing decomposition and foaming of a transfer layer at the same time as melting, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 48-43632. And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-102402 discloses a method in which a self-oxidizing binder layer is provided on a support, and an irradiated portion is heated and ejected by irradiating a laser beam of relatively small energy to transfer an image to an image receiving body. Are respectively disclosed. However, in these methods, nitrocellulose is mainly used as the self-oxidizing binder, and the storage stability and the safety of the image recording medium are poor. And the use of carbon black as a light-absorbing dye causes the transfer image to have only a black and white image.

As a method for solving these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-506709 proposes a laser ablation transfer method. Laser ablation refers to laser ablative photo-decomposition, for example, "Advanced Materials (Adva
9), No. 2, pp. 105-119 (1997), shows that components formed on a support are rapidly decomposed photochemically or thermally by laser light irradiation, Is defined as exfoliative removal of the components from the support by the explosive force of thermal expansion / dispersion. In this specification, laser ablation is used as defined above.

In the laser ablation transfer method, a near-infrared laser light source and an image recording medium comprising a near-infrared light absorbing dye having no strong absorption in the visible light region and a decomposable binder are used. In this image recording medium, the decomposable binder is partially decomposed at high speed by irradiation of near-infrared laser light with relatively small energy, and the image forming components are supported by explosive force due to thermal expansion and scattering of the decomposed product. It has the function of being completely (exfoliated) removed from the body and transferred to the receptor.

JP-A-6-510490 discloses that a dynamic release layer is separately provided between a support and an image forming layer, and this layer is subjected to laser ablation, and a transfer image is formed using this as a driving force. With lower energy,
A method for forming an image with less color smear is disclosed.
Also, JP-A-6-239032, JP-A-7-18
No. 41, JP-A-7-179074, JP-A-7-195834, and the like provide a polymer layer having a function of generating a gas by heating by laser irradiation, and use this together with a black metal layer. A method for lowering the transfer energy is disclosed.

[0010]

However, in the case of the transfer image forming method utilizing laser ablation, in the transfer sheet and around the image on the image receiving body, the scattered matter composed of the image forming component and / or the decomposition product thereof is used. Smearing occurs, which causes a reduction in resolution and the like. This fact indicates that even in the “optical alliance” (Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 8-12 (1996)), in the case of laser ablation using (near) infrared laser light, thermal It is reported that a melting mark or the like is generated due to the diffusion effect of, and it is difficult to obtain a good etching image.

On the other hand, in the laser ablation transfer image forming method using a dynamic release layer described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-510490, dirt due to scattered matter is suppressed, but the dynamic release layer is sufficiently large as a thin film. There is a problem that a vacuum deposition step of depositing a metal such as aluminum having an absorption strength on a support is required, which is industrially complicated.

That is, in the conventional laser ablation transfer image forming method, the etching image on the transfer sheet and / or the transfer image on the image receiving sheet becomes dirty due to decomposition of image forming components and the like, and the resolution and color purity of the image decrease. A vacuum process for forming a metal deposition film on a support, which causes melting marks and the like around the etched image of the transfer sheet due to thermal diffusion of near-infrared laser light or infrared laser light and reduces image resolution. It has problems such as necessity.

An object of the present invention is to provide a laser image recording method for forming a positive image or a negative image by transferring an image from an image recording medium to an image receiving sheet using a laser beam. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording medium and an image forming method which are easy, have little stain on the periphery of an etched image on an image recording medium and / or a transferred image on an image receiving sheet, and do not lower the resolution.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides [1] a vinyl compound having (1) an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group on a support; A weight average molecular weight of 500 to
A laser image recording medium having a transfer material layer comprising a polymer in the range of 100,000 and (2) a coating containing a metal dithiolene complex dye;

[2] The above-mentioned [1], wherein the polymer of the vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted by an alkyl group is polystyrene having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 50,000. The laser image recording medium according to the description,

[3] The metal dithiolene complex dye has the general formula (1)

[0017]

Embedded image

(1) wherein M represents a transition metal and X represents a counter cation.

[4] The above-mentioned [1] to [1], further comprising an adhesive layer on a coating film composed of a coating material for forming a laser image recording medium.
The laser image recording medium according to any one of [3],

[5] The laser image recording medium according to the above [4], wherein the adhesive layer is made of a resin exhibiting adhesiveness by laser irradiation.

[6] By irradiating the laser image recording medium according to any one of the above [1] to [5] with a laser beam, the image portion where the coating film has been removed from the light-irradiated portion and the non-irradiated portion can be removed. An image forming method for forming a non-image portion,

[7] After the image receiving support is overlaid on the adhesive layer of the laser image recording medium according to the above [4] or [5], the coating on the light-irradiated portion is formed by irradiating a laser beam. An image forming method for transferring to an image receiving support,

[8] In the image forming method according to the above [6], the image receiving support having an adhesive layer is superimposed on the side in contact with or in proximity to the laser image recording medium, and then irradiated with laser light. An image forming method of transferring the coating film of the light-irradiated portion to an image receiving support having an adhesive layer,

[9] (1) A polymer of a vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may have an alkyl group, wherein the polymer has a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 100,000. A coating material for forming a laser image recording medium, comprising (2) a metal dithiolene complex dye and (3) a chlorine-based solvent;

[10] The above-mentioned [9], wherein the polymer of the vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group is polystyrene having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 50,000. The paint for forming a laser image recording medium according to the above. as well as

[11] The coating material for forming a laser image recording medium according to [9], wherein the metal dithiolene complex dye is a compound represented by the general formula (1).

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The laser image recording medium of the present invention will be described. 1 and 2 are schematic sectional views showing an example of the laser image recording medium of the present invention. The image recording medium shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a transfer material layer 2 containing a metal dithiolene complex dye on a support 1, and the image recording medium shown in FIG. A transfer material layer 2 containing a metal dithiolene complex dye and an adhesive layer 3 are sequentially provided.

The transfer material layer 2 is, for example, a polymer of a vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group, and has a weight average molecular weight of 500 to 1
A coating material for forming a laser image recording medium containing a polymer (hereinafter, referred to as a polymer), a metal dithiolene complex dye, and a chlorine-based solvent in the range of 0.00000,
After being applied on top, it can be dried to form.

Examples of the vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group include, for example,
Styrene; α-methylstyrene, 4-methylstyrene,
Styrene having an alkyl substituent such as 4-t-butylstyrene; vinyl naphthalene, vinyl anthracene, vinyl phenanthrene, vinyl biphenyl, vinyl pyrene, and compounds in which the aromatic ring of these compounds is substituted with an alkyl group.

The polymer used for the transfer material layer 2 may be a homopolymer of the above-mentioned vinyl compound, a copolymer of the above-mentioned vinyl compound, or a plurality of homopolymers. May be used as a mixture.

The polymer used in the transfer material layer 2 preferably has a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 100,000, particularly preferably 10,000 to 80,000. When polystyrene is used as the polymer used for the transfer material layer 2, the weight average molecular weight is 500 to
A range of 50,000 is more preferred.

The thickness of the transfer material layer 2 is not particularly limited, but is preferably in the range of 200 nm to 10 μm,
The range of m to 2 μm is particularly preferred.

As the metal dithiolene complex dye used for the transfer material layer 2, any complex dye having a dithiolene skeleton and a transition metal at the center of the skeleton can be used without any particular limitation. As such a metal dithiolene complex dye, a compound represented by the general formula (1)

[0034]

Embedded image

(Wherein M represents a transition metal and X represents a counter cation).

In the general formula (1), M represents a transition metal, and M is Ni, Cu, Zn, Co, Pt, Pd, A
Compounds in which u and Fe are preferred, and compounds in which M is Ni are particularly preferred. X represents a counter cation, and tetraalkylonium such as tetraalkylammonium and tetraalkylphosphonium is preferably used in view of compatibility with a vinyl polymer and solubility at the time of preparing a coating for a laser image recording medium. Available. Examples of the alkyl group of the tetraalkylonium include a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, and a butyl group.

As the counter cation X, a dye ion, for example, a diarylmethane dye such as auramine,
Triaryl dyes such as methyl violet, crystal violet and malachite green; xanthene dyes such as rhodamine B; thiazine dyes such as methylene blue; azine dyes such as safranin T; azo dyes such as chrysoidin and bismark brown; azomethine dyes Pigment,
It is preferable to use a cation moiety such as a quinone-based dye because it has both functions of laser light absorption and color display.

Examples of the complex salt of a cationic dye ion which can be used when expecting such functions of laser light absorption and color display include, for example, diarylmethane dyes such as auramine, methyl violet, crystal violet, and malachite. Triaryl dyes such as green, xanthene dyes such as rhodamine B, thiazine dyes such as methylene blue, azine dyes such as safranin T, azo dyes such as chrysoidin and bismark brown, azomethine dyes, quinone dyes and the like In addition to complex salts with a cation moiety, complex salts with the cation moiety of other basic dyes described in “Dye Handbook” (Kodansha Scientific, 1986) may be mentioned.

The content of the metal dithiolene complex dye in the transfer material layer 2 is such that the absorbance at the irradiation wavelength of the recording medium is not more than 0.1.
An amount in the range of 0.5 to 0.3 / μm is preferred.

To the transfer material layer 2, a coloring substance such as a pigment or a coloring matter can be added for the purpose of coloring.

Examples of pigments or pigments that can be added to the transfer material layer 2 for the purpose of coloring include, for example, naphthol yellow S (yellow-yellow orange), oil yellow AB (yellow), auramine (yellow), and anzaline (Orange red), Congo red (red), fuchsin (red), eosin (red), rhodamine B (blue red), mauve (purple),
In addition to methylene blue (blue), indigo (blue), malachite green (cyan), induthless blue (dark blue), phthalocyanine (blue, green), and other known dyes.

According to the laser image recording medium and the laser image recording method of the present invention, the laser image recording medium of each of cyan, magenta and yellow, or R (red) and G
By using each of the (green) and B (blue) laser image recording media, the present invention can be applied to the production of a color transfer image, particularly, a full-color image or a color filter.

In this case, pigments and dyes corresponding to cyan, magenta, and yellow, or R (red), G (green), and B (blue), respectively, are those commonly used in full-color images and color filters. Can be used without any particular limitation. As such pigments and dyes, for example, CF series (CF, manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu Co., Ltd.)
Yellow 110, CF Red 22
6, CF Green (Green) 303, CF Blue (Blu
e) 120, CF Cyan (123), Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. PC series (PC Yellow 42)
P, PC Magenta (Magenta) 10P, PC Cyan (Cya
n) 2P, PC Red (Red) 137, PC Green (Gr
een) FOP, PC Blue (Blue 43P) and the like, but are not limited thereto.

The transfer material layer 2 may contain additives such as a dispersant, an antistatic agent, a filler, a filler and a curing agent as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

The chlorine-based solvent used for the coating material for forming a laser image recording medium dissolves the polymer used for the transfer material layer 2,
There is no particular limitation as long as the metal dithiolene complex dye can be dissolved or dispersed. However, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, chloroform, and chlorobenzene are preferred from the viewpoints of the solubility of the polymer, the solubility or dispersibility of the metal dithiolene complex dye, and the film forming property of the coating.
In the coating for forming a laser image recording medium, in addition to the chlorinated solvent, if necessary, as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired,
General-purpose solvents can be used in combination.

Examples of the method of applying the above coating material on the support 1 include known thin film forming means such as a casting method, a spin coating method, a dip coating method, a roll coating method, a bar coating method and a doctor blade method. Can be

The material of the support 1 constituting the laser image recording medium of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a material which is not affected by the solvent in the paint used for producing the recording medium. Such materials include, for example, various plastics such as polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyacrylate, polyolefin, polycarbonate, phenolic resin, cellulose acetate, and the like, glass, Metal and the like. The shape of the support 1 is preferably a film, sheet or plate.

In the laser image recording medium of the present invention, an adhesive layer 3 can be provided on the transfer material layer 2 as shown in FIG.

As a material for forming the adhesive layer, any material having an adhesive property to the material for the image receiving body 5 can be used.
There is no particular limitation. As a material for forming the adhesive layer, for example, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, cellulose resin (methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, etc.),
Examples include polyethylene-vinyl chloride resin.

Further, carnauba wax,
Thermal melting properties of waxes such as montan wax, beeswax, rice wax, paraffin wax, microcrystal wax, higher fatty acids such as palmitic acid, stearic acid and behenic acid, and higher alcohols such as palmityl alcohol, stearyl alcohol and behenyl alcohol. Compounds can also be included.

The adhesive layer may contain a laser light absorbing dye for the purpose of efficiently converting laser light into heat and increasing the adhesive force by heating. The laser light absorbing dye is not particularly limited as long as it can efficiently convert laser light into heat.For example, a metal dithiolene complex, a diimonium compound, an aminium compound,
And cyanine dyes.

In order to obtain uniform heating conditions by laser light irradiation, the thickness of the adhesive layer is usually preferably 500 nm or less, particularly preferably in the range of 100 to 200 nm. When the layer pressure of the adhesive layer is larger than 500 nm, a large irradiation energy tends to be required for forming a transferred image, which is not preferable.

Next, an image forming method according to claim 6 of the present invention will be described. FIGS. 3 and 4 show claim 6 of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a process diagram illustrating an example of the image forming method described above, that is, an example of forming an etched image.

By irradiating a laser beam corresponding to an image signal from the front surface or the back surface of the laser image recording medium of the present invention, the irradiated portion is rapidly heated to cause thermal expansion. As a result, only the light-irradiated portion (4) is cut off from the surrounding non-irradiated portion, complete removal occurs, and the image portion where the coating film of the light-irradiated portion is removed and the non-image portion of the non-irradiated portion are removed. It is formed.

Next, an image forming method according to claim 7 of the present invention will be described. FIGS. 5 and 6 are process diagrams illustrating an example of the image forming method according to the seventh aspect, that is, an example of forming an etched image and / or a transferred image.

When the laser image recording medium of the present invention is brought into close contact with or close to the image receiving body and laser light irradiation corresponding to the image signal is performed, the light irradiation portion is rapidly heated to cause thermal expansion. As a result, in FIG. 5, only the light-irradiated portion is cut off from the peripheral non-irradiated portion with almost no decomposition reaction, and is completely removed from the laser image recording medium. By transferring the removed portion to the image receiving member, a positive image and / or a negative image can be obtained at the same time. FIG. 6 shows an image forming method using a laser image recording medium provided with an adhesive layer 3 on a transfer material layer. 3 shows an image forming method using a laser image recording medium having an adhesive layer 3 provided on a transfer material layer. Since the adhesive layer is heated by the laser beam irradiation and the adhesive layer is heated at the same time as the removal of the light-irradiated portion, there is an advantage that a transfer image strongly adhered to the image receiving body can be obtained.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are process diagrams for explaining an example of the image forming method according to the eighth aspect, and show the case where the adhesive layer 6 is provided on the image receiving body in FIGS. 5 and 6. It is a thing. By providing the adhesive layer 6 on the image receiving body, it is possible to obtain a transfer image further strongly adhered on the image receiving body.

As the image receiving member 5, for example, paper, glass,
Examples thereof include a metal plate, a film, a sheet, and a plate-shaped polymer. Further, these image receiving bodies may be provided with an adhesive layer on the surface on the image receiving side. The adhesive layer may be the same as or different from that used for the image recording medium, for example, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin And cellulose-based resins (eg, methylcellulose, ethylcellulose), and polyethylene-vinyl chloride resins.

The adhesive layer provided on the image receiving member 5 may contain a heat-fusible compound and a laser light absorbing dye, similarly to the adhesive layer provided on the image recording medium. Examples of these compounds and dyes include the compounds and dyes exemplified in the adhesive layer provided on the image recording medium.

The thickness of the adhesive layer provided on the image receiving body 5 is usually
500 nm or less is preferable, and the range of 100 to 200 nm is particularly preferable.

In the ablation transfer method, the transfer material layer or a substitute layer (dynamic release layer) undergoes rapid chemical decomposition to cause transfer, but in the method of the present invention, the light-irradiated portion of the transfer material layer is removed. It is uniformly peeled and transferred from the support without causing chemical decomposition. In the ablation transfer method, expansion and scattering phenomena of decomposition products are used as the driving force for image formation and transfer.In order to prevent image contamination, a transparent support is usually used, and laser light is irradiated from the back of the support. It is recommended (see JP-A-8-282099).

However, in the laser image forming method of the present invention, the light irradiation part is heated almost uniformly also in the depth direction and does not cause a decomposition reaction. Cause uniform rapid thermal expansion, and are separated and cleaved, and detached from the unirradiated portion. That is, since there is almost no difference between the peeling, the cutting, and the detachment of the transfer material layer depending on the light irradiation direction, in the laser image forming method of the present invention, as shown in the configurations of FIGS. Accordingly, the laser light can be irradiated from either the support side (FIG. 9) or the image receiving support side (FIG. 10) of the laser image recording medium.

The laser beam irradiation method in the laser image forming method of the present invention includes a laser beam irradiation method using a mask and a laser beam scanning method. When using the latter method of scanning laser light, for example,
It is more desirable because image data created on a computer can be directly drawn on a laser image recording medium. Oscillation wavelength of laser light is 200nm ~ 2000n
The wavelength in the range of m is preferred, and the wavelength in the range of 350 to 1800 nm is particularly preferred because it overlaps the absorption wavelength range of the metal dithiolene complex dye.

Examples of lasers corresponding to these include a semiconductor laser, an argon ion (Ar ⁺ ) laser, a neodymium yag (Nd ³⁺ : YAG) laser, an ylf (YLF) laser, and a cage-type laser (KG).
W) lasers, YAP lasers, titanium sapphire lasers, optical parametric oscillators using these, various laser-excited dye lasers, and the like.

The irradiation time of the laser beam at each pixel point is desirably milliseconds or less from the viewpoint of speeding up image formation, and is particularly preferably from 100 femtoseconds (fs) to 300 femtoseconds.
Irradiation times in the nanosecond (ns) range are preferred. The irradiation time may be changed individually or in combination with a mechanical, electrical, or optical shutter for each of the continuous oscillation lasers, or a pulse oscillation type laser may be used.

[0066]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail by way of examples, but the present invention is not limited to the scope of these examples.

Example 1 Polystyrene (manufactured by Aldrich; weight average molecular weight (Mw) = 45.0)
00) 10% by weight, tetra-n-butylphosphonium
Formation of a laser image recording medium comprising 0.5% by weight of bis (1,3-dithiol-2-thione 4,5-dithiolato) nickel complex (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) and 89.5% by weight of 1,1,2-trichloroethane Paint (A-1) was prepared.

The coating material obtained above was applied on a 1 mm-thick slide glass by a spin coating method so as to have a thickness of 0.8 μm after drying, and then dried to form a transfer material layer. Formed to obtain a laser image recording medium.

The wavelength 106 of the transfer material layer thus obtained is
The absorbance at 4 nm was 0.08.

A fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (FWHM) of 20 nanoseconds (ns)) of a 500 mJ / cm ² YAG laser was applied to the two laser image recording media thus obtained, Irradiation was performed from the side and from the side of the slide glass used as the support, respectively.
The surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation is measured with a surface shape measuring device (DEKTAK 3030 manufactured by Sloan).
As a result of observation using ST), a concave pattern having a sharp edge could be confirmed in each case.
FIG. 11 shows the pattern of the cross-sectional shape when the irradiation was performed from the transfer material layer side, and the cross-sectional shape when the irradiation was performed from the support side also showed the same pattern as FIG.

<Comparative Example 1> In Example 1, polymethyl methacrylate (manufactured by Aldrich Co .; weight average molecular weight (Mw) = 15.0) was used instead of polystyrene.
A coating material for forming a laser image recording medium (a-1) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that (00) was used.

In the same manner as in Example 1, except that the coating material (a-1) for laser image formation obtained above was used and the film thickness of the transfer material layer was 0.5 μm. A laser image recording medium was obtained.

The wavelength 106 of the transfer material layer thus obtained is
The absorbance at 4 nm was 0.05.

The two laser image recording media thus obtained are applied to the fundamental wave (1) of the 1 J / cm ² YAG laser.
064 nm, pulse width (FWHM) 20 ns (n
s)) was irradiated on one side from the transfer material layer side and on the other side from the slide glass side used as the support. The surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation is measured by a surface shape measuring device (DEKTAK 3030S manufactured by Sloan).
As a result of observation using T), in each case, a concave pattern having a swelling of the film due to scattered matter in the periphery was confirmed. FIG. 12 shows the pattern of the cross-sectional shape when the irradiation was performed from the transfer material layer side, and the cross-sectional shape when the irradiation was performed from the support side also showed the same pattern as FIG.

Comparative Example 2 In Example 1, polymethyl methacrylate (manufactured by Aldrich; weight average molecular weight (Mw) = 120, instead of polystyrene) was used.
000) was used to prepare a laser image recording medium-forming coating material (a-2) in the same manner as in Example 1.

In the same manner as in Example 1, except that the coating material (a-2) for laser image formation obtained above was used and the thickness of the transfer material layer was 0.7 μm. A laser image recording medium was obtained.

The wavelength 106 of the transfer material layer thus obtained is obtained.
The absorbance at 4 nm was 0.07.

The two laser image recording media obtained in this manner are applied to a fundamental wave (1) of a 1 J / cm ² YAG laser.
064 nm, pulse width (FWHM) 20 ns (n
s)) was irradiated on one side from the transfer material layer side and on the other side from the slide glass side used as the support. The surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation is measured by a surface shape measuring device (DEKTAK 3030S manufactured by Sloan).
As a result of observation using T), in each case, a concave pattern having a swelling of the film due to scattered matter in the periphery was confirmed. FIG. 13 shows the pattern of the cross-sectional shape when the irradiation is performed from the transfer material layer side, and the cross-sectional shape when the irradiation is performed from the support side also shows the same pattern as that in FIG.

From the comparison between the pattern of the sectional shape of Example 1 shown in FIG. 11 and the pattern of the sectional shape of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the laser image recording medium of the present invention was used. In this case, it can be understood that there is little dirt around the image, the resolution of the etched image is excellent, and a clear image can be obtained.

<Example 2> In Example 1, polystyrene (manufactured by Aldrich (Aldrich); Mw = 45,0)
00) instead of polystyrene (Aldrich (Al
drich); Mw = 25,000), except that a paint (B-1) for forming a laser image recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1.

In the same manner as in Example 1, except that the coating material for laser image formation (B-1) obtained above was used and the film thickness of the transfer material layer was 0.7 μm. A laser image recording medium was obtained.

The wavelength 106 of the transfer material layer thus obtained is
The absorbance at 4 nm was 0.07.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support is overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media obtained in this manner, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser is applied. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support by using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image with no dirt around the image was obtained. In addition, the surface shape on the transfer material layer and the image receiving support after light irradiation can be measured by a surface shape measuring device (Dectac (DE manufactured by Sloan)).
As a result of observation using KTAK) 3030ST), in each case, a concave image was formed on the transfer material layer, and a convex image was formed on the image receiving support, and a uniform image free of dirt around the image was obtained. I was able to confirm that FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional pattern of a concave image formed on the transfer material layer when irradiated from the support side of the laser image recording medium, and FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional pattern of a convex image formed on the image receiving support. As shown in FIG. 14, the cross-sectional shape when irradiation was performed from the transfer layer side is also shown in FIG.
15 and a pattern similar to that of FIG.

<Comparative Example 3> In Example 1, polystyrene (Aldrich; Mw = 45,0) was used.
00) instead of polystyrene (Aldrich (Al
drich); Mw = 25,000) and tetra-n-
Butylphosphonium bis (1,3-dithiol-2-
Thione 4,5-dithiolato) nickel complex,
A coating material (b-1) for forming a laser image recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the diimmonium-based dye IRG-022 (Nippon Kayaku) was used.

A laser image was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the coating material (b-1) for laser image formation obtained above was used and the film thickness of the transfer material layer was 1 μm. A recording medium was obtained.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support is overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser is applied. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side, respectively, but no transfer image was obtained.

<Comparative Example 4> After a glass slide was superimposed on the two laser image recording media obtained in Comparative Example 3 as an image receiving support, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width of 800 mJ / cm ² of YAG laser) was applied. (FWHM) 20 ns)
Was irradiated from the support side of the laser image recording medium, and the other was irradiated from the image receiving support side.

As a result of observing the surface shapes of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, melting marks were observed around the image on the transfer material layer side. It was confirmed that there was a stain due to fibrous scattered matter around the transfer image formed on the body side.

<Comparative Example 5> In Example 1, polystyrene (manufactured by Aldrich (Aldrich); Mw = 45.0)
00) instead of polystyrene (Aldrich (Al
drich); Mw = 25,000) and 1,1,2-
A coating material for forming a laser image recording medium (b-2) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that methyl ethyl ketone was used instead of trichloroethane.

A laser image was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the coating material for laser image formation (b-2) obtained above was used and the film thickness of the transfer material layer was 1 μm. A recording medium was obtained.

After a slide glass as a support for image reception is overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, the fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1406 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser is used. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side, respectively, but no transfer image was obtained.

<Comparative Example 6> After a slide glass was superimposed on the two laser image recording media obtained in Comparative Example 5 as an image receiving support, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width of 800 mJ / cm ² of YAG laser) was applied. (FWHM) 20 ns)
Was irradiated from the support side of the laser image recording medium, and the other was irradiated from the image receiving support side.

As a result of observing the surface shapes of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, melting marks were observed around the image on the transfer material layer side. It was confirmed that there was a stain due to fibrous scattered matter around the transfer image formed on the body side.

<Comparative Example 7> In Example 1, polystyrene (Aldrich); Mw = 45,0
00) instead of polystyrene (Mw = 239,70)
A coating material for forming a laser image recording medium (b-3) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0) was used.

A laser image was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the coating material for laser image formation (b-3) obtained above was used and the thickness of the transfer material layer was 1 μm. A recording medium was obtained.

After a slide glass as a support for image reception is overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser is applied. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side, respectively, but no transfer image was obtained.

<Comparative Example 8> After a slide glass as an image receiving support was overlaid on the two laser image recording media obtained in Comparative Example 7, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width of 800 mJ / cm ² of YAG laser) was applied. (FWHM) 20 ns)
Was irradiated from the support side of the laser image recording medium, and the other was irradiated from the image receiving support side.

As a result of observing the surface shapes of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, melting marks were observed around the image on the transfer material layer side. It was confirmed that there was a stain due to fibrous scattered matter around the transfer image formed on the body side.

Example 3 Polystyrene (manufactured by Aldrich; weight average molecular weight (Mw) = 25.0)
00) 10% by weight, tetra-n-butylphosphonium
Bis (1,3-dithiol-2-thione 4,5-dithiolato) nickel complex (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) 0.5% by weight,
A coating (C-1) for forming a laser image recording medium, comprising 0.2% by weight of rhodamine 6G dye and 89.3% of 1,1,2-trichloroethane was prepared.

The coating material obtained above was applied to a 1 mm-thick slide glass by a spin coating method so that the film thickness after drying was 1 μm, and then dried to form a transfer material layer. Thus, a laser image recording medium was obtained.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support is overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, the fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser is applied. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support by using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform red image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Example 4> The coating material for forming a laser image recording medium (B-1) used in Example 2 was spin-coated on a 1 mm-thick glass slide so that the film thickness after drying was 1 μm. After applying by using the method, it was dried to form a transfer material layer.

A coating for forming an adhesive layer comprising 2% by weight of polyvinyl acetate (manufactured by Aldrich; weight average molecular weight (Mw) = 83,000) and 98% by weight of methanol was prepared.

The coating material for forming an adhesive layer obtained above is applied on a transfer material layer by a spin coating method, and dried to form a film having a film thickness of 10%.
A laser image recording medium was obtained by forming a 0 nm adhesive layer.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support was overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser was used. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Embodiment 5> In Embodiment 4, Embodiment 2
For forming a laser image recording medium used in the above (B-1)
Instead of using the laser image recording medium forming paint (C-1) used in Example 3, a laser image recording medium was obtained in the same manner as in Example 4.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support was overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media obtained in this manner, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser was used. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support by using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform red image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

Example 6 A 150 μm thick polyester film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) was used as an image receiving support on the transfer material layer of each of the two laser image recording media obtained in Examples 2 to 5. ), And a fundamental wave of a 140 mJ / cm ² YAG laser (1064 nm, pulse width (F
WHM) of 20 ns) was irradiated on one side from the support side of the laser image recording medium and on the other side from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the polyester film used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave, and the image was formed on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

Example 7 A commercially available overhead projector (OHP) was used as an image receiving support on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media obtained in Examples 2 to 5, respectively.
Of the YAG laser of 140 mJ / cm ² (1064 nm, pulse width (FWHM))
20 ns), one was irradiated from the support side of the laser image recording medium, and the other was irradiated from the image receiving support side.
OHP used as a transfer material layer and an image receiving support after irradiation
As a result of observing the surface shape of the film for use with an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer is a concave image, the image is a convex image on the image receiving support, and there is no stain around the image. It was confirmed that a uniform image was obtained.

<Example 8> An aluminum plate was laminated as a support for image reception on the transfer material layer of each of the two laser image recording media obtained in Examples 2 to 5, and then 140 mJ / cm ^2.
Of the YAG laser (1064 nm, pulse width (FWHM) 20 ns) was irradiated on one side from the support side of the laser image recording medium, and the other was irradiated from the support side for image reception. As a result of observing the surface shape of the aluminum sheet used as the transfer material layer after irradiation and the image receiving support using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Example 9> In Examples 2 to 5, except that a slide glass was used as a support for a laser image recording medium, a polyester film having a thickness of 50 µm ("Lumirror" manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) was used. Various laser image recording media were obtained in the same manner as in Examples 2 to 5.

Each of the two laser images thus obtained was
A slide as an image receiving support on the transfer material layer of the image recording medium.
140mJ / after stacking glass or OHP film
cm ^TwoFundamental wave of YAG laser (1064 nm, Pal
Width (FWHM) 20 ns), one of which is laser image recording
From the recording medium support side and the other from the image receiving support side.
Each was irradiated. Of the transfer material layer and the image receiving support after irradiation.
As a result of observing the surface shape using an optical microscope,
In some cases, the transfer material layer has a concave shape on the image receiving support.
The image is a convex image, and there is no stain around the image.
It was confirmed that an image was obtained.

<Example 10> An aluminum plate was laminated as a support for image reception on the transfer material layer of each of the two laser image recording media obtained in Example 9 and then a YAG laser of 140 mJ / cm ² was used. Wave (1064 nm, pulse width (F
WHM) of 20 ns) was irradiated on one side from the support side of the laser image recording medium and on the other side from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer and the support for image reception after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer has a concave shape and a convex shape on the image support. As a result, it was confirmed that a uniform image free of dirt around the image was obtained.

<Example 11> In Examples 2 to 5,
Except for using monochlorobenzene in place of 1,1,2-trichloroethane, in the same manner as in Examples 2 to 5, various laser image recording medium forming paints were prepared, and various laser image recording media were similarly prepared. Obtained.

After a slide glass as a support for image reception was superimposed on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse of YAG laser of 140 mJ / cm ²⁾ was applied. Width (FWHM) 2
0 ns), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium and the other from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer and the support for image reception after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer has a concave shape and a convex shape on the image support. As a result, it was confirmed that a uniform image free of dirt around the image was obtained.

<Example 12> In Examples 2 to 5,
Except for using chloroform instead of 1,1,2-trichloroethane, in the same manner as in Examples 2 to 5, various laser image recording medium forming paints were prepared, and various laser image recording media were similarly obtained. Was.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support was superimposed on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media obtained in this manner, a fundamental wave of a YAG laser of 140 mJ / cm ² (1064 nm, pulse Width (FWHM) 2
0 ns), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium and the other from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer and the support for image reception after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer has a concave shape and a convex shape on the image reception support. As a result, it was confirmed that a uniform image free of dirt around the image was obtained.

<Thirteenth Embodiment> In the second to twelfth embodiments,
The laser light source is the fundamental wave of YAG laser (1064n
m) instead of YAG laser second harmonic (532n
m, pulse width (FWHM) 20 ns)
The operation was performed in the same manner as in Examples 2 to 12, and the surface shapes of the transfer material layer and the image-receiving support after irradiation were observed using an optical microscope. In any case, the transfer material layer had a concave shape.
It could be confirmed that a convex image was formed on the image receiving support, and a uniform image free of dirt around the image was obtained.

Example 14 A laser was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that poly (4-methylstyrene) (weight average molecular weight (Mw) = 72,000) was used instead of polystyrene. Paint for forming image recording media (D
-1) was prepared.

The coating material obtained above was applied by a spin coating method on a 1 mm-thick slide glass so as to have a thickness of 1 μm after drying, and then dried to form a transfer material layer. Thus, a laser image recording medium was obtained.

The wavelength 106 of the transfer material layer thus obtained was obtained.
The absorbance at 4 nm was 0.1.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support was overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (1064 nm) of a 200 mJ / cm ² YAG laser was used. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Example 15> In Example 1, poly (4-t-butylstyrene) (manufactured by Aldrich, product number: 36,970-5, lot number: 00199EG, weight average molecular weight (Mw)) was used instead of polystyrene. ) Is 50,
(E-1) was used in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a product in the range of 000 to 100,000) was used.

The coating material obtained above was applied by a spin coating method on a 1 mm-thick slide glass so that the film thickness after drying would be 1 μm, and then dried to form a transfer material layer. Thus, a laser image recording medium was obtained.

The wavelength 106 of the transfer material layer thus obtained was obtained.
The absorbance at 4 nm was 0.1.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support was overlaid on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse width (200 mJ / cm ²⁾ of a YAG laser of 200 mJ / cm ² was obtained. FWHM) 20n
s), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium,
The other was irradiated from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer after irradiation and the slide glass used as the image receiving support using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer was concave on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image with no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Embodiment 16> Embodiments 2 to 12, 14 to 1
5 in Examples 2 to 12, except that a tetra-n-butylammonium bis (1,3-dithiol-2-thione 4,5-dithiolato) nickel complex (Tokyo Kasei) was used as the nickel dithiolene complex dye. , 14-
Various laser image recording media were prepared in the same manner as in No. 15, and various laser image recording media were obtained in the same manner.

After a slide glass as an image receiving support was superimposed on the transfer material layers of the two laser image recording media thus obtained, a fundamental wave (1064 nm, pulse of a YAG laser of 140 mJ / cm ²⁾ was applied. Width (FWHM) 2
0 ns), one from the support side of the laser image recording medium and the other from the image receiving support side. As a result of observing the surface shape of the transfer material layer and the support for image reception after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer has a concave shape and a convex shape on the image support. As a result, it was confirmed that a uniform image free of dirt around the image was obtained.

<Embodiment 17> Embodiments 2 to 12, 14 to 1
In 5, the second harmonic (532 nm, 20 ns) of the YAG laser was used as the irradiation laser light, and 250 mJ
The operation was performed in the same manner as in each example except that light irradiation was performed at an intensity of / cm ² .

As a result of observing the surface shapes of the transfer material layer and the image receiving support after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer had a concave shape, and the transfer material layer had a convex shape on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image having no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Embodiment 18> Embodiments 2 to 12, 14 to 1
5, the third harmonic (355 nm, 20 ns) of the YAG laser was used as the irradiation laser light,
The operation was performed in the same manner as in each example except that light irradiation was performed at an intensity of / cm ² .

As a result of observing the surface shapes of the transfer material layer and the image receiving support after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer had a concave shape, and the transfer material layer had a convex shape on the image receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image having no dirt around the image was obtained.

<Embodiment 19> Embodiments 2 to 12, 14 to 1
6, the irradiation time of the YAG laser was set to 20 ns.
Except that it changed from (nanosecond) to 20ps (picosecond)
The operation was the same as in each example.

As a result of observing the surface shapes of the transfer material layer and the image-receiving support after irradiation using an optical microscope, in any case, the transfer material layer had a concave shape, and the transfer material layer had a convex shape on the image-receiving support. It was confirmed that a uniform image having no dirt around the image was obtained.

[0135]

According to the laser image forming method of the present invention, a polymer of a metal dithiolene complex dye, a vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may have an alkyl group, and having a molecular weight in a specific range By using a laser image recording medium comprising a combination of polymers having the following formulas, a transferred image with less stain around the image and high solid image uniformity can be formed at high speed and with low irradiation energy.

Further, in the laser image forming method of the present invention, since the light-irradiated portion of the transfer material layer is uniformly peeled off and transferred from the support without causing chemical decomposition, the etched image and / or the transferred image can be obtained. Since a clear image can be obtained without lowering the resolution of the laser image forming method of the present invention,
It can be applied to formation of a color image, production of a printing plate, production of a color filter, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a laser image recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a laser image recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a change over time when laser light is irradiated from the support side of the laser image recording medium in the image forming method according to claim 6;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a change over time when a laser beam is irradiated from a transfer material layer side of a laser image recording medium in the image forming method according to claim 6;

FIG. 5 is a process chart for explaining an example of the image forming method according to claim 7;

FIG. 6 is a process diagram illustrating an example of the image forming method according to claim 7;

FIG. 7 is a process diagram illustrating an example of the image forming method according to claim 8;

FIG. 8 is a process diagram illustrating an example of the image forming method according to claim 8;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a method of irradiating a laser beam from a support side of a laser image recording medium in the laser image forming method of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a method of irradiating a laser beam from the image receiving support side in the laser image forming method of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows Example 1 observed using a surface shape measuring apparatus.
5 is a chart showing the cross-sectional shape of the transfer material layer after laser light irradiation obtained in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a comparative example 1 observed using a surface shape measuring apparatus.
5 is a chart showing the cross-sectional shape of the transfer material layer after laser light irradiation obtained in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a comparative example 2 observed using a surface profile measuring apparatus.
5 is a chart showing the cross-sectional shape of the transfer material layer after laser light irradiation obtained in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment observed using a surface profile measuring apparatus.
5 is a chart showing a cross-sectional shape of a concave image formed on a transfer material layer after laser light irradiation obtained in FIG.

FIG. 15 shows a second embodiment observed using a surface profile measuring apparatus.
5 is a chart showing a cross-sectional shape of a convex image formed on an image receiving support after laser light irradiation obtained in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 support 2 transfer material layer 3 adhesive layer 4 laser beam 5 image receptor 6 adhesive layer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G03F 7/029 G11B 7/24 516 G11B 7/24 516 B41M 5/26 Y

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A polymer of (1) a vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group, having a weight average molecular weight of 500 to 10
A laser image recording medium comprising a transfer material layer comprising a coating containing a polymer in the range of 0.000 and (2) a metal dithiolene complex dye. 2. The polymer according to claim 1, wherein the polymer of the vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group is polystyrene having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 50,000. Laser image recording medium. 3. The metal dithiolene complex dye represented by the general formula (1): The laser image recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the compound is a compound represented by the formula: wherein M represents a transition metal; and X represents a counter cation. 4. The laser image recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive layer on the transfer material layer. 5. The laser image recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the adhesive layer is made of a resin exhibiting adhesiveness by laser irradiation. 6. Irradiating the laser image recording medium according to claim 1 with a laser beam,
An image forming method, comprising: forming an image portion from which a coating film of a light irradiation portion has been removed and a non-image portion of a non-irradiation portion. 7. The image receiving support according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the image receiving support is overlaid on the adhesive layer of the laser image recording medium, and then irradiated with laser light so that the light-irradiated portion of the coating film is coated. Image forming method for transferring images to 8. An image-receiving support having an adhesive layer is superimposed on a side in contact with or in proximity to a laser image recording medium, and then irradiated with a laser beam to form a coating film on the light-irradiated portion with the adhesive layer. 7. The image forming method according to claim 6, wherein the image is transferred to an image receiving support. 9. A polymer of a vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group, wherein the polymer has a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 100,000. A paint for forming a laser image recording medium, comprising (2) a metal dithiolene complex dye and (3) a chlorine-based solvent. 10. A polymer of a vinyl compound having an aromatic hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with an alkyl group,
The coating material for forming a laser image recording medium according to claim 9, wherein the coating material is polystyrene having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 50,000. 11. The metal dithiolene complex dye represented by the general formula (1): 10. The coating material for forming a laser image recording medium according to claim 9, wherein the compound is a compound represented by the formula: wherein M represents a transition metal and X represents a counter cation.