JPH11180056A - Receiving paper for fusion type thermal-transfer recording - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receiving paper for fusion type thermal-transfer recording which is excellent in the gloss at a white paper part and printed parts in full color recording, and also, has a wide color-reproducing region, and is excellent in ink receiving property and ink fixing property. SOLUTION: On a sheet-like base material, a hot-melting ink receiving layer is provided, and the white paper glass at an incidence-light receiving angle of 20 deg. based on JIS Z 8741 of the surface of the sheet-like base material is 20% or higher, and the surface roughtness Rmax based on JIS K 0601 is 7 μm or lower, and also, the hot-melting ink receiving layer is formed of a transparent resin of which the glass transition temperature is -40-80 deg.C, and the white paper gloss at an incidence-light receiving angle of 20 deg. based on JIS Z 8741 of the surface of the transparent resin is 40% or higher.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image receiving paper used in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like using a thermal transfer recording method of a hot-melt ink type. The present invention relates to a fusion type thermal transfer recording receiving paper excellent in acceptability and ink fixing property.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various recording methods such as an electrophotographic method and a thermal transfer recording method use a colored coloring material. Usually, the coloring material is melted, evaporated and sublimated to form a recording medium such as a paper or a film sheet. The recorded image is obtained by the transfer, adhesion, adsorption and dyeing.

[0003] Among these types of recording systems, the thermal transfer recording system of the hot-melt ink type melts an ink ribbon having a hot-melt ink layer by heat generated by a thermal head, and transfers the hot-melt ink layer to a recording medium. The image is transferred to obtain a recorded image. The hot-melt ink is prepared by mixing a natural pigment such as carnauba wax, a synthetic wax such as ester wax, or the like with a colored pigment or a dye.

In recent years, digitization of images has progressed, and it has become possible to output high-definition images in each recording system. In particular, in the ink jet or sublimation type thermal transfer system, the glossiness of the white paper portion and the image portion reproduces the recording quality having the texture of a silver halide photograph. On the other hand, in the fusion-type thermal transfer method, there is no dot defect in image quality, ink transferability with good dot shape reproducibility, and ink fixability are necessary. A heat-fusible ink-receiving layer containing a binder is provided (Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-78)
No. 439) A method, polystyrene having a specific thermal conductivity in order to enhance the heat insulating property of the heat-fusible ink receiving layer,
Organic pigments such as urea resin and amorphous silica (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-62)
No. 558), and a method of providing pores on the surface in order to enhance the fixability of the ink.
However, in the conventional method as described above, the heat-fusible ink retains high fluidity during transfer, so that the heat-fusible ink permeates the heat-fusible ink receiving layer, Since the ink migrates along the irregularities of the image, the gloss of the image area is reduced. Also, in order to improve the transferability of the ink, a material having high heat insulating property is used for the heat-meltable ink receiving layer, and the glossiness of the white paper is reduced because the heat-meltable ink receiving layer has pores on the surface. ing.

[0005] In these conventional methods, the glossiness of the blank portion and the image portion is extremely low, and the gloss difference between the blank portion and the image portion is particularly large. It is not at present.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a receiving paper for fusing type thermal transfer recording used in a fusing type thermal transfer recording system. An object of the present invention is to provide a receiving paper for a fusion-type thermal transfer recording excellent in ink receptivity and ink fixing property.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording according to the present invention has a heat-fusible ink receiving layer on a sheet-like substrate, and JIS Z on the surface of the sheet-like substrate.
The glossiness of the white paper at the incident / receiving angle of 20 degrees based on 8741 is 20
% Or more, and the surface roughness Rmax based on JIS K 0601 is 7 μm or less, and the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer contains a transparent resin having a glass transition temperature of −40 to 80 ° C., and the surface thereof has a JIS Z8741. Incident /
The white paper gloss at a light receiving angle of 20 degrees is 40% or more.

The transparent resin forming the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer of the heat-receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording according to the present invention comprises:
A water-soluble or water-dispersible polymer compound having an average particle size of 0.001 to 1 μm in the hot-melt ink receiving layer.
It is preferable that the pigment is contained. Furthermore, the receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording according to the present invention preferably has an intermediate layer between the sheet-like substrate and the heat-fusible ink receiving layer.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In general, in order to obtain a recorded image by a thermal transfer recording method, ink applied by a thermal head during printing is transferred to an image receiving layer in a stable shape without bleeding, chipping or missing dots. It is necessary to
In order for the transferred ink to reproduce a stable shape,
It is said that an image receiving layer using a pigment having low thermal conductivity and having no irregularities on the surface of the image receiving layer is required. However, using these formulations, an image receiving layer is formed using an organic pigment or amorphous silica having high smoothness and low thermal conductivity (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-6255).
No. 8), it is not possible to obtain a high-gloss silver halide texture.

Therefore, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies on a high gloss white paper and a receiving paper for a fusion type thermal transfer recording which has a texture of a silver halide photograph in a printed portion and is excellent in ink transferability and fixability. As a result, the JI
The glossiness of white paper at an incident / reception angle of 20 degrees based on SZ8741 is 20% or more, the surface roughness Rmax based on JIS K0601 is 7 μm or less, and the heat-fusible ink receiving layer is transparent and its surface has JIS Z8741.
It has been found that the gloss can be achieved when the white paper gloss at an incident / light-receiving angle of 20 degrees based on is 40% or more.

The conventional hot-melt ink-receiving layer uses a pigment having a particle size of 0.5 to 10 μm in order to enhance the heat insulating effect, and has a role of penetrating the hot-melt ink into the gaps between the pigments. . In addition, the incident light on the white paper part is irregularly reflected due to surface irregularities and is absorbed by the gap between the pigments.
The gloss is significantly reduced. For this reason, in the image area, the ink penetrates into the gaps between the pigments, causing irregularities in the thickness of the transfer ink, and the reflection of the light incident from the top of the image on the surface of the heat-meltable ink receiving layer is referred to as irregular reflection. Become. Further, the light that has passed through the heat-fusible ink receiving layer is also irregularly reflected on the surface of the heat-fusible ink receiving layer, and the gloss is significantly reduced.

Since the heat-meltable ink-receiving layer of the present invention is highly smooth and transparent, incident light on a white paper portion penetrates into the heat-meltable ink-receiving layer with almost no irregular reflection on the surface, and a sheet is formed. Reaches the surface of the substrate. Here, since the incident light is efficiently reflected on the highly smooth sheet-like base material, high gloss is obtained. In the image area, since the transfer ink is fixed on the heat-meltable ink receiving layer, the thickness of the transfer ink is uniform, and therefore, the reflection of light incident from the top of the image on the surface of the heat-meltable ink receiving layer is efficiently performed. The light that passes through the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer and passes through the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer and is efficiently reflected on a highly smooth sheet-like substrate, so that high gloss is obtained.

Thus, the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer is provided on a highly smooth and high-gloss sheet-like substrate, and the heat-fusible ink is transferred onto the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer in a uniform film thickness. Accordingly, even in the hot-melt ink-type thermal transfer method, it is possible to obtain a high-gloss recorded image close to the texture of a silver halide photograph.

JIS of the surface of the heat-fusible ink receiving layer
When the glossiness of the white paper at an incident / reception angle of 20 degrees based on Z8741 is 40% or more, it is possible to obtain a high-gloss recorded image that is excellent in full-color white paper and the glossiness of a printed portion and close to the feel of a silver halide photograph. If the white paper gloss is less than 40%, the gloss of the printed portion is inferior and a high gloss recorded image cannot be obtained.

The present inventors have conducted intensive studies on the sheet-like substrate and the heat-meltable ink-receiving layer. As a result, the sheet-like substrate has a white paper gloss of 20% or more at an incident / receiving angle of 20 degrees,
In addition, the surface roughness Rmax is 7 μm or less. When the white paper gloss is less than 20%, the gloss is lower than the gloss of the hot-melt ink receiving layer, irregularly reflected on the surface of the sheet-like substrate, and the gloss of the hot-melt ink receiving layer surface becomes low. Even when Rmax is larger than 7 μm, light that has passed through the heat-meltable ink-receiving layer is irregularly reflected on the surface of the sheet-like substrate, and the gloss of the surface of the heat-meltable ink-receiving layer is reduced. The material of the sheet-shaped base material is not particularly limited as long as the white paper gloss is 20% or more, and is usually coated paper for printing such as gloss art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like.
Synthetic paper, synthetic resin film and porous film using polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyetherimide, polysulfone, polystyrene, nylon, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, etc. can be used depending on the application. A synthetic paper made of a polyolefin and a pigment, a porous synthetic resin film such as a porous polyethylene terephthalate film or a porous polypropylene film can be used. Further, the sheet-like substrate may be a laminated paper in which one or both sides are laminated with a polyolefin resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

As the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer, a general thermoplastic resin can be used. Specifically, as a water-soluble and / or water-dispersible polymer compound, for example, polyvinyl alcohol, isoprene, neoprene, Polydienes such as polybutadiene, polyalkenes such as polybutene, polyisobutylene, polypropylene and polyethylene, vinyl halide, vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-acrylonitrile, styrene, (meth) acrylate,
Vinyl polymers and copolymers such as (meth) acrylamide and methyl vinyl ether, polystyrene and styrene
Examples thereof include synthetic rubber latex such as butadiene-based and methyl methacrylate-butadiene-based, and synthetic polymer compounds such as polyurethane resin, polyester resin, polyamide resin, olefin-maleic anhydride resin, and melamine resin. Furthermore, since the softening temperature of the ink is around 80 ° C., the thermoplastic resin used softens at a temperature lower than the softening point of the ink, enhances the transferability of the ink, and improves the fixability of the ink. Glass transition temperature of -40 to 80
C. is preferable, and more preferably -20 to 80C. As the optical properties of these thermoplastic resins, those having a refractive index of 2.0 or less are preferable from the viewpoint of maintaining transparency,
Also, the film thickness is preferably 1 to 50 μm. In the present invention,
One or two or more of these thermoplastic resins are appropriately selected and used according to a quality goal. If the glass transition temperature is lower than -40C, blocking occurs in the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer.

For the purpose of improving the heat insulating property of the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer and the fixing property of the ink, a pigment can be incorporated into the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer as long as the transparency is not lost. . Specific examples of pigments that can be incorporated in the heat-meltable ink receiving layer include mineral pigments such as titanium dioxide, alumina, and silica, and organic pigments such as polystyrene resin, vinyl chloride resin, urea resin, melamine resin, and acrylic resin. Pigments can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Further, as for the particle diameter of the pigment, a fine pigment having a particle size of 0.001 to 1 μm is preferable, and colloidal silica is more preferable, as long as the transparency of the heat-fusible ink receiving layer is not lost. The amount is preferably 1,000 parts by weight or less, more preferably 300 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the transparent resin.
Not more than parts by weight. If the amount of the pigment is more than 1000 parts by weight, not only the transparency is lost but also the strength of the coating film is low, and the coating film may peel off during printing.

In the coating liquid for the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer, in addition to these, various auxiliaries such as a surfactant, a pH adjuster, a viscosity adjuster, a softener, a gloss imparting agent, waxes,
Dispersants, flow modifiers, antistatic agents, stabilizers, antistatic agents, crosslinkers, sizing agents, optical brighteners, coloring agents, ultraviolet absorbers, defoamers, waterproofing agents, plasticizers, lubricants, Preservatives, fragrances and the like can be used as needed.

The coating amount of the coating liquid for the heat-fusible ink receiving layer is appropriately selected according to the intended use of the receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording of the present invention.
It is necessary to completely cover the irregularities on the surface of the sheet-like substrate, and the dry weight is suitably 0.5 to 50 g / m ² .

As a coating method for forming the heat-meltable ink receiving layer, generally known coating apparatuses such as a blade coater, an air knife coater, a roll coater, a reverse roll coater, a bar coater, a curtain coater, a die coater,
Apparatuses such as a gravure coater, a chaplex coater, a brush coater, a two-roll or metering blade type size press coater, a bill blade coater, a short dwell coater, and a gate roll coater are appropriately used.

In forming the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer, in order to improve the adhesion between the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer and the sheet-like substrate, and to improve the heat insulation properties of the heat-fusible ink-receiving layer, It is also possible to provide a layer or, if necessary, two or more intermediate layers to form a multilayer structure. In addition,
In the case of a multilayer structure, each coating liquid does not need to be the same, and may be appropriately adjusted and blended according to a required quality level, and is not particularly limited. In addition, it is also possible to provide a synthetic resin layer, a coating layer composed of a pigment and an adhesive, an antistatic layer, and the like on the back surface of the sheet-shaped base material to provide curling prevention, printability, paper supply suitability, and the like. is there. Furthermore, by applying various processes to the back surface of the sheet-shaped substrate, for example, by applying post-processes such as adhesion, magnetism, flame retardancy, heat resistance, water resistance, oil resistance, and anti-slip, it is of course possible to use it with added application suitability. is there.

The receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording can be subjected to a smoothing treatment, if necessary. Although there is no particular limitation on the smoothing method, a normal smoothing apparatus such as a super calendar, a gloss calendar, or a soft calendar can be used. Further, the form of the pressurizing device, the number of pressurizing nips, heating and the like are appropriately adjusted in accordance with a normal smoothing device.

[0023]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but of course, these are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. “Parts” and “%” in Examples
Means "parts by weight" and "% by weight" unless otherwise specified
Is shown.

Examples 1 to 3 As a sheet-shaped substrate, Example 1: Synthetic paper (trade name; YUPO GFG130, basis weight 103 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper), Example 2: White PET ( Product name; Lumirror X21,
Example 3: Cast coated paper (trade name: OK enamel coat, basis weight 127 g / m ² , manufactured by Toray Industries, Ltd.)
9g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd.)
An ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (trade name; Movinyl 181E, Tg = -9 ° C, manufactured by Hoechst Gosei Co., Ltd.) is coated and dried using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the coated film becomes 2 μm, and is melted. A receiving paper for thermal transfer recording was obtained.
Evaluate the white paper gloss and the surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-shaped substrate and the white paper gloss of the obtained melt-type thermal transfer recording receiving paper, the gloss of the printed area, the ink fixability and the dot reproducibility,
The results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Examples 1 and 2 Comparative sheet 1: synthetic paper (trade name; YUPO FPG130, basis weight 100.1 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Co., Ltd.) Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (trade name; Movinyl 18) on paper (trade name: OK Topcoat, basis weight: 127.9 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd.)
1E, Tg = -9 ° C., manufactured by Hoechst Synthetic Co.) was applied and dried using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the coating film after drying was 2 μm, to obtain a melt-type thermal transfer recording receiving paper. The glossiness of the white paper gloss and the surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-like substrate and the glossiness of the white paper gloss and the gloss of the printed portion of the obtained receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording,
The ink fixability and the dot reproducibility were evaluated, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 3 A synthetic paper (trade name; YUPO GFG130, basis weight 103 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Oil Chemicals, Ltd.) was used as a sheet-like base material, and the coated surface was made of polyester. A resin (trade name; Polyester T-2716, Tg = 90 ° C., manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Co., Ltd.) is coated and dried using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the coating film becomes 2 μm, and the receiving paper for the melt-type thermal transfer recording is formed. I got The white paper gloss and the surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-like base material and the white paper gloss, the gloss of the printed portion, the ink fixability and the dot reproducibility of the obtained receiving paper for fusion transfer printing were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1. .

Example 4 As a sheet-like base material, polypropylene (trade name: Labellite 260LL, basis weight 40 g / m ² ), OK coat (basis weight 104 g / m ² ), and YUPO FPG60 (basis weight 47.
4 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper Co., Ltd.) and having a three-layer structure, an acrylic resin (trade name; Licabond SAR61) on the surface of the polypropylene.
5 (B), manufactured by Chuo Rika Kogyo Co., Ltd.) was applied and dried using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the coating film was 2 μm, to form an intermediate layer. Further, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (trade name; Movinyl 181E, T
g = −9 ° C., 100 parts by weight from Hoechst Synthetic Co.), and a coating liquid in which 50 parts by weight of colloidal silica (trade name: ST-20L, particle size = 45 nm, manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was added, Coating and drying were performed using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the dried coating film became 2 μm, to obtain a melt-type thermal transfer recording receiving paper. The white paper gloss and the surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-like base material and the white paper gloss, the gloss of the printed portion, the ink fixability and the dot reproducibility of the obtained receiving paper for fusion transfer printing were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1. .

Comparative Example 4 As a sheet-like substrate, a polyester resin (trade name: Polyester T-27) was formed on the intermediate layer of the substrate used in Example 4.
16, 100 parts by weight of Tg = 90 ° C., manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Co., Ltd., and colloidal silica (trade name: ST-20L,
(Particle size = 45 nm, manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) and 50 parts by weight of the coating solution were applied and dried using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the coating film became 2 μm. Obtained. The white paper gloss and the surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-like base material and the white paper gloss, the gloss of the printed portion, the ink fixability and the dot reproducibility of the obtained receiving paper for fusion transfer printing were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1. .

Example 5 As a sheet-like substrate, cast-coated paper (trade name: OK)
Enamel coat, basis weight 104.7 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd.), and an intermediate layer of an acrylic resin (trade name: Licabond SAR615 (B), manufactured by Chuo Rika Kogyo Co., Ltd.) 100 parts by weight of a plastic pigment (product) Name: Ropayck OP84J, particle size 0.5 μm, Rohm & Haas Co., Ltd.) and 10% by weight of the coating solution were applied using a gravure coater and dried so that the thickness of the coating film became 2 μm. Formed. Further, a styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (trade name: Iodosol 2E058, T
g = 40 ° C., manufactured by Kanebo NSC) 100 parts by weight of colloidal silica (trade name: ST-ZL, particle size: 1)
(100 nm, Nissan Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was added and dried using a gravure coater so that the thickness of the coating film after drying was 2 μm, to obtain a receiving paper for thermal transfer recording by melting. Was. The white paper gloss and the surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-like base material and the white paper gloss, the gloss of the printed portion, the ink fixability and the dot reproducibility of the obtained receiving paper for fusion transfer printing were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1. .

Reference Examples 1 to 3 As a sheet-like base material, Reference Example 1: Synthetic paper (trade name; YUPO GFG130, basis weight 103 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Yuka Synthetic Paper), Reference Example 2: White PET ( Product name; Lumirror X21,
Basis weight 140 g / m ² , manufactured by Toray Industries, Ltd., Reference Example 3: Cast coated paper (trade name: OK enamel coat, basis weight 127.
9 g / m ² , manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd.), and printing was performed on the glossy surface. The white paper gloss and surface roughness Rmax of the paper and the gloss of the printed portion, ink fixability, and dot reproducibility were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1.

Evaluation method Seiko CH7204 was used as an evaluation printer. (Evaluation of dot reproducibility of recorded image surface) One-color (cyan) halftone dot portion of the recorded image surface was converted to a dot analyzer (DA-500).
The magnification was increased by a factor of 30 according to 0), and the degree of missing dots and roundness was visually evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. ◎ or ○
If this is the case, there is no practical problem, and if Δ or ×, there is a practical problem.評 価 Evaluation of missing dots (recording environment 20 ° C, 65%
RH)｝: Very excellent with no missing dots. ：: good with few dots Δ: There is dot missing and slightly inferior. ×: Many dots are missing and inferior.

(Evaluation of glossiness of sheet-like base material, blank portion and recording portion) Y, M, C, Y, M, C,
The glossiness of the R, G, B, and BK portions was measured using a glossmeter (trade name: GLOSS METER, manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Co., Ltd.).
The measurement was performed at an incident angle and a light receiving angle of 20 degrees.

(Evaluation of Surface Roughness of Sheet-shaped Substrate) The surface roughness Rmax of the sheet-shaped substrate was measured using a stylus-type surface roughness meter (trade name: Surfcoder, manufactured by Kosaka Laboratories). It was measured.

(Fixing property of ink) A cellophane tape was adhered to the recording portion, and rubbed 10 times from above. Then, the cellophane tape was peeled off, and the peeling of the ink was visually evaluated. If it is な く or ○, there is no practical problem, and if △ or ×, there is a practical problem. A: No peeling of the ink was observed. ：: Peeling of the ink is slightly not observed. Δ: Peeling of ink is observed. ×: Ink peeling is remarkably observed.

[0035]

[Table 1]

[0036]

As is clear from the above description, the receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording according to the present invention is particularly excellent in white paper and print portion gloss in full color, and excellent in ink acceptability and ink fixability. It has the texture of salt photography and greatly contributes to the industry.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fusion-type thermal transfer recording receiving paper having a heat-fusible ink-receiving layer on a sheet-like substrate, wherein the surface of the sheet-like substrate has an incident light based on JIS Z8741.
20% or more of white paper gloss at a light receiving angle of 20 degrees, and JIS
The heat-fusible ink-receiving layer has a surface roughness Rmax based on K0601 of 7 μm or less and contains a transparent resin having a glass transition temperature of −40 to 80 ° C.
A fusion type thermal transfer recording receiving paper characterized in that the glossiness of white paper at an incident / receiving angle of 20 degrees based on Z8741 is 40% or more. 2. The receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording according to claim 1, wherein the transparent resin is a water-soluble or water-dispersible polymer compound. 3. The heat transfer recording receiving paper according to claim 1, wherein the heat melting ink receiving layer contains a pigment having an average particle diameter of 0.001 to 1 μm. 4. The receiving paper for fusion-type thermal transfer recording according to claim 1, further comprising an intermediate layer between the sheet-like substrate and the heat-fusible ink receiving layer.