JPH1142859A - Device for forming laminated transfer material and method for forming laminated transfer material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer a transfer material such as metal or ink to a material to which the transfer material is transferred with high positional accuracy without the necessity to use a mold or a plate. SOLUTION: A thermal printer is equipped with a head part 30 which is arranged to cover an ink layer of a desired pattern formed on a sheet and thermally peels a transfer film containing a metal foil while pressurizing the transfer film, to transfer the metal foil to a sheet side, and control parts 21, 22, 23 which control the head part 30 so that the transfer film is heated in a larger pattern than the pattern of the ink layer by at least, the margin of a positional deviation between the ink layer and a thermal head and obtain a laminated transfer material comprising the profile of the metal foil layer which coincides with the profile of the ink layer by an adhesive force between the metal foil layer and the ink layer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a laminated transfer body forming apparatus and a laminated transfer body forming method for forming a laminated transfer body in which a specific material layer is transferred to a transferred body by heat and pressure, and more particularly to a transfer base layer. The present invention relates to a laminated transfer body forming apparatus and a laminated transfer body forming method which are inserted between a specific material layer and a transferred body in order to adjust the adhesiveness between them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, metal foil has been used to form an electromagnetic circuit such as an antenna in a wireless tag for preventing theft of goods, or to shine a label or a sticker attached to a container or paper. In this case, this metal foil is punched by a mold or hot stamped,
Alternatively, it is adhered to an object to be transferred such as a seal. In hot stamping, a metal foil is thermocompression-bonded to an object to be transferred via a transfer base layer.

Here, the conventional hot stamping will be described with reference to FIG. This hot stamping
The transfer is performed using a press table on which the transfer object and the transfer film are placed in an overlapping manner, and a mold that presses the transfer film against the transfer object by being heated in advance. The transfer film is composed of a metal foil and a base film that holds the metal foil, and the transfer target is covered with a transfer base layer having good adhesion to the metal foil. The metal foil is adhered from the base film to the transfer object by heat and pressure applied from the mold. This adhesive force is stronger than the adhesive force to the base film, and when the transfer film is removed following the mold, the metal foil is peeled off from the base film by this adhesive force and is left on the transferred object, and laminated with the transferred object. Form a transfer body.

[0004] In this hot stamping, it is common to use a coated paper coated with a resin so as to form a transfer underlayer for improving the adhesiveness. The surface treatment is performed so as to improve the adhesion to the specific material layer.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-336947 discloses an example in which a transfer device is devised in order to correct a positional shift between a mold and a transferred object. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-122184 discloses a technique for forming a laminated transfer body without using hot stamping. In this technique, a transfer intermediate medium is used to reduce displacement. However, none of them can completely eliminate the displacement. Further, in order to obtain a laminated transfer body having a high-definition pattern, it has been considered to previously pattern a specific material layer such as a metal foil on a transfer film by etching, for example.

[0006]

As described above, hot stamping using a mold has problems in equipment price, running cost and delivery time. Furthermore, there is a space problem like a press machine, and it is necessary to acquire technical skills. In addition, the etching process has a similar problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a laminated transfer body forming apparatus and a laminated transfer body forming apparatus capable of transferring a transfer material such as metal or ink to a transferred body with high positional accuracy without requiring a mold or a plate. The aim is to provide a method.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a transfer film including a specific material layer, which is disposed so as to cover a transfer base layer of a desired pattern formed on a transfer object, is pressed. A variable area heating unit that transfers a specific material layer to the transfer object side by heating and peeling while heating,
The variable region heating unit is controlled so that the transfer film is heated with a heating pattern larger than the pattern of the transfer underlayer at least by a positional deviation margin between the transfer underlayer and the variable region heating unit, and the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer A controller for obtaining a laminated transfer body in which the contour of the specific material layer is made to match the contour of the transfer base layer by the adhesive force therebetween.

Further, a step of forming a transfer base layer having a desired pattern on a transfer target body, and a transfer film disposed so as to cover the transfer base layer and including a specific material layer are arranged, and the transfer film is pressed. Transferring the specific material layer to the transfer object side by a variable area heating unit that heats and peels while transferring, and the transfer step is performed by transferring the transfer film by at least a margin of a displacement between the transfer base layer and the variable area heating unit. The variable area heating unit is controlled so that it is heated with a heating pattern that is larger than the pattern of the formation layer, and the specific material layer's contour matches the contour of the transfer underlayer by the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer. There is provided a method for forming a laminated transfer body, comprising a step of obtaining a transfer body.

In the method and apparatus for forming a laminated transfer body according to the first aspect of the present invention, a variable area heating unit is used in place of a mold or a plate, and a metal foil is formed in a desired pattern determined on demand. A laminated transfer body in which a specific material layer such as the above is transferred to a transfer body can be obtained. At this time, the operator does not need to learn special techniques. Further, the heating pattern of the transfer film is set to be large at least by a displacement margin between the transfer base layer and the variable area heating unit. For this reason, even if this displacement is the maximum,
The specific material layer can be reliably defined in a predetermined pattern by the transfer underlayer.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer is made of a material which can be thermally transferred to the transfer underlayer by setting a transfer condition of the specific material layer lower than a condition for direct thermal transfer to a transfer object. It is characterized by being performed. Here, the transfer conditions of the specific material layer include a heating amount, a pressing amount, and a speed. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy and low energy consumption without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer can be thermally transferred to the transfer base layer by setting the transfer conditions of the specific material layer to be substantially the same as the conditions for direct thermal transfer to the transfer target. It is characterized by being composed of a material that cannot be thermally transferred directly to a transfer body. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer. In addition, the work can be performed without changing the setting of the conditions and without setting time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the transfer object, the transfer underlayer, and the specific material layer are formed in a region where the transfer underlayer does not exist when the transfer film is heated and pressurized and when the transfer film is peeled off. The adhesive force between the base and the specific material layer and the holding force of the specific material layer itself are larger than the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer object. Of the transfer film, the adhesion between the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer, the retention of the transfer underlayer itself, the adhesion between the transfer underlayer and the object to be transferred, and the holding force of the object to be transferred are better than those of the transfer film. It is larger than the adhesive force between the base and the specific material layer, and more than the adhesive force between the base of the transfer film and the specific material layer in the area where the transfer underlayer exists at the time of peeling.
It is characterized by being formed of a material that increases the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer and the holding power of the specific material layer itself. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the transfer base layer is a colorless or colored hot-melt ink based on wax, wax resin, or resin. As a result, it is possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the precoat (transfer base layer).

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the transfer film is a transfer film including at least a base, a release layer, a specific material layer, and an adhesive layer that can be thermally bonded to the transfer base layer. . This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer contains a metal. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern has metallic luster or conductivity.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer contains a ceramic. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is inorganic, matte, insulating, abrasion-resistant, and has high friction.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer contains a thin film at least in part. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer is a reflective film,
It is characterized by including an optical effect film such as a semi-reflective film, a semi-transmissive film, a transmissive film, a non-transmissive film, a refractive film, a diffractive film, and a scattering film.
Thereby, a laminated transfer body having a decorative effect and an optical effect can be obtained.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, at least one of the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer contains at least one of a thermosetting resin and a thermoplastic resin. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without much positional restrictions with respect to the transfer base layer, without much material restrictions.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer includes an electro-magnetic functional film such as a conductive film, an insulating film, a resistive film, a magnetic film, and an antistatic film. It is characterized by the following. Thereby, the electromagnetic function film can be transferred in an arbitrary shape to form an electromagnetic circuit.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the transfer base layer and the specific material layer comprises a plurality of hot melt ink layers. Thereby, the operability, spaceability, and running cost can be improved by transferring a plurality of hot-melt ink layers in an arbitrary shape so as to also serve as the transfer base layer or the specific material layer.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as not to cover other layers formed in the surface of the transfer object in the vicinity of the transfer base layer. It is characterized by that. This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film does not partially cover the transfer underlayer when a desired symbol is formed by the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer. It is characterized by being set.
This makes it possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film is set for the specific material layer independently of the pattern of the transfer base layer when a desired symbol is constituted by the transfer base layer. It is characterized by that. Here, the desired symbol is a rectangle, an ellipse, a star, or the like. As a result, it is possible to obtain a laminated transfer body on which a specific material layer of a fine desired pattern representing a white character is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the specific material layer has a function of selectively adhering to another layer. This makes it possible to overlap another layer or ink on the specific material layer.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer is an optical effect film such as a reflection film, and is covered with a translucent process color layer. This allows
Any color, including halftones, can be added to the optical effect.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the transfer underlayer and the specific material layer has a non-transfer function of another layer in at least a part thereof. Thus, it is possible to prevent the transferred transfer underlayer from being stained by a positional shift generated when transferring the specific material layer or another layer, and the transferred specific material layer from being stained by a positional shift generated when transferring the other layer. it can. That is, it is possible to set a high accuracy by heating the boundary between a plurality of layers adjacent to each other in a plane without worrying about dirt due to misalignment.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer is patterned in advance so as to form a desired symbol in the transfer film. As a result, it is possible to obtain a laminated transfer body in which a specific material layer of a fine desired pattern such as a trade mark, hatching, or a grating is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from a transfer base layer.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the specific material layer is preliminarily patterned so as to hollow out desired symbols in the transfer film. As a result, the specific material layer is transferred in the desired symbol pattern, and the transfer film remaining as the negative pattern of the symbol can be reused.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, the laminated transfer member constitutes an optical component, an optical circuit, an electromagnetic component, and an electromagnetic circuit. Thereby, the laminated transfer body can be used for purposes other than image recording.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, at least one of the transfer underlayer and the specific material layer forms an optical component, an optical circuit, an electromagnetic component, and an electromagnetic circuit. Thereby, the laminated transfer body can be used for purposes other than image recording.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, when the transfer underlayer is transferred by the variable region heating unit in addition to the specific material layer, the control unit may determine the type and pattern information relating to the specific material layer. Pattern heating means for determining a heating pattern for the transfer base layer and a heating pattern for the specific material layer based on the heating pattern. This eliminates the need for a specialized technique for obtaining a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, the variable area heating unit includes any one of a thermal head composed of one or more heating elements, an energization heating means, and an electromagnetic wave irradiation means, and When the body has another layer formed in advance, the transfer base layer and the specific material layer that can be transferred only to the other layer are configured to be transferred in at least one of hot peeling and cold peeling. And
Thereby, it is possible to alleviate restrictions on various materials that are required to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, the transfer underlayer and at least a part of the specific material layer have compatibility. Thereby, it is possible to alleviate restrictions on various materials that are required to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the specific material layer of the desired pattern is transferred with high accuracy without displacement from the transfer base layer.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film is at least partially similar to the contour of the pattern of the transfer base layer. This facilitates the creation of a heating pattern for obtaining a laminated transfer body and reduces the consumption of transfer energy.

[0037] According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as not to extend beyond a position substantially half the distance between the transfer base layer and another layer adjacent to the transfer base layer. It is characterized by that. This allows
Interference with other layers can be avoided while reliably eliminating the displacement between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as to be widened within twice the positional deviation margin. This makes it possible to reliably eliminate the positional displacement between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer.

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, the heating pattern of the transfer film does not partially cover the transfer base layer when the specific material layer and the transfer base layer constitute a desired symbol. It is characterized in that it is set so as to spread outside the transfer underlayer. This makes it possible to surely eliminate the positional shift between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer at a position where the shift is a problem.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, the object to be transferred is translucent, and has the desired pattern and the mirror-finished pattern on the back surface with respect to the transfer base layer and the specific material layer. It is characterized by. It is possible to obtain a double-sided laminated transfer body suitable for a window display.

[0041]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present application, a laminated transfer body is obtained in which a specific material layer such as a metal foil is transferred to a transfer target body in a desired shape by heating and pressing on demand without using a mold or a plate. Therefore, a thermal printer is exemplified as a transfer device because the transfer device is intended to be used without acquiring special techniques. Also, a color thermal printer is exemplified instead of a monochrome printer. Even with a monochrome printer, the transfer operation can be repeated several times.However, since this is close to the acquisition of specialized technology, exchanging films and ink does not require any special technology as an ink cartridge of the current printer. A case where a color thermal printer is employed as a transfer device capable of transferring by pressing will be described. Of course, a printer that automatically recognizes the ink cartridge and can be handled by the user as a black box may be used, but here, a color thermal printer called a tandem type, which is easy to understand and has a transfer unit for each transfer process, is used. The following description is an example of a case where a printed material is mainly used as a laminated transfer body product. Accordingly, ink is mainly used as a material to be laminated.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a color thermal printer 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the thermal printer includes four thermal heads 2, 3, 4, 5,
In each thermal head, a desired type of transfer film such as an ink ribbon or a metal foil ribbon is provided on supply rolls 7a, 8a, 9a, and 10a. A sheet 11 as an example of a transfer object is provided in a roll form on the back of the printer, and is supplied to the printer together with the transfer film at a speed of 4 inches / second (about 10 cm / second) from the right in FIG. The thermal heads 2, 3, 4, and 5 transfer the transfer film and paper to the platens 2a, 3a, 4a, and 5a.
It is driven at a predetermined printing timing while being sandwiched and pressurized in cooperation with. The transfer film is taken up by take-up rolls 7b, 8b, 9b, and 10b as the paper 11 moves. In this way, the thermal printer forms a color print in which a part of each transfer film is sequentially transferred to the paper 11 as a laminated transfer body. The color is a part of the optical characteristics, and a laminated transfer body as an optical component combined with another component such as a mirror or a diffraction grating can be formed. In normal color printing, yellow Y, which is the three primary colors of the color material,
A desired color is synthesized using four color inks of magenta M, cyan C, and black (K). For example, when printing red letters,
The desired character is printed in yellow, and magenta is superimposed at exactly the same position to make it appear red. If there is a misalignment, it looks like a yellow or magenta character, or looks like a blurry character. As a matter of course, inks with good translucency are used to produce overlapping colors. In this manner, color printing is performed. When a decorative color such as gold and silver is further printed, the printing is changed to a transfer film such as an ink ribbon of an ink containing metal powder or the like, for example, the thermal heads 2, 3,. After printing the yellow Y, magenta M, and cyan C in step 4, the remaining thermal head 5 may be used to print gold and silver. However, ink containing metal powder or the like has little metallic luster and has a dull color. It is preferable to use a metal foil to obtain a laminated transfer body having an optical characteristic of gloss. Further, although the laminated transfer body made of metal powder can reduce the resistance value to some extent, it has insufficient conductivity for forming an electromagnetic circuit. Conventional hot stamping can solve the metal gloss and conductivity problems mentioned above because the metal foil is transferred to a specially coated paper or sheet, but it is necessary to make a mold that determines the pattern of the metal foil Yes, the transfer target is limited. Another problem is that delivery time and cost are high.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the thermal printer forms a transfer base layer with a hot-melt ink such as yellow Y, magenta M, and cyan C, and forms a specific material layer such as a metal foil on the transfer base layer. The specific material layer is formed in a desired pattern by a selective bonding function of the transfer base layer formed. Thus, by using a metal foil instead of a normal color ink, a mold required for hot stamping can be omitted. This metal foil is preferably further covered with a durable film that prevents corrosion of metal that impairs conductivity. When an electromagnetic circuit such as an antenna is formed on a wireless tag by thick film printing using metal powder, baking of the metal powder is required after printing. In addition, since it is difficult to obtain sufficient conductivity using materials other than silver, such an antenna is usually formed by pressing a metal plate with a mold. In this molding, metal foil and hot melt ink cannot be used. On the other hand, in the thermal printer serving as the transfer device of the present embodiment,
An inorganic film such as a thermosetting resin, a metal oxide, or a ceramic can be set in a desired pattern by a selective bonding function of the transfer underlayer. In the prior art, the underlayer and the specific material layer such as a metal foil are easily displaced. If these transfer positions are shifted, the transfer base layer appears to protrude from the specific material layer unless it is colorless, and it becomes difficult to set the specific material layer to a desired pattern. The positional accuracy of the transfer base layer is important for setting the specific material layer in a desired pattern.

The thermal printer can arbitrarily set the heating area of the plurality of thermal heads 2, 3, 4, and 5 that are driven at the time of transfer. It is expensive to perform this. The price can be reduced by performing this displacement correction by software, but the displacement can be corrected to only half the resolution in principle. Further, in such a correction, it is necessary to perform the alignment again according to the head exchange, the ink exchange, and the paper exchange. Further, it is difficult to perform positioning while taking into account expansion and contraction due to heating without increasing the cost and the required time.

In the thermal printer according to the present embodiment, a transfer base layer having a desired pattern is previously transferred to a transfer object, and a specific material layer is transferred by heating a thermal head in a region including the transfer base layer pattern. The specific material layer is set to a desired pattern with high accuracy without displacement with respect to the transfer base layer.

As a specific example, a case of obtaining a print image in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed will be described with reference to FIG.
In the print image shown in FIG. 2A, a gothic character "TEC" is composed of metal foil, and "RESEARCH CE
In other words, in the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1, the ink layer is transferred from the transfer film 7 of the ink ribbon by the thermal head 2 as a transfer base layer, and the metallic layer is specified. The material layer is transferred from the transfer film 8 of the metal foil ribbon by the thermal head 3, and the ink layer is transferred from the transfer film 9 of the black ink ribbon by the thermal head 4. The thermal head 2 is as shown in FIG. "TE
The ink ribbon is heated in a gothic pattern C ", and the thermal head 3 is made of a metal pattern in a pattern larger than the desired pattern as shown in FIG. 2 (C1) or in a full pattern as shown in FIG. 2 (C2). By heating the foil ribbon, the specific material layer adheres only to the transfer base layer, and is set in a pattern determined by the pattern of the transfer base layer. If the ink ribbon is heated in FIG. 2 (A)
Can be obtained without displacement between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer. Note that these shifts in the transfer position occur depending on the configuration of the current printer. This displacement can be reduced to about 解像度 of the resolution by inexpensive software correction regardless of the use of the metal foil ribbon, but it cannot be completely eliminated. However, in this embodiment, a high-accuracy laminated transfer body can be obtained even in such a situation.
When the metal foil ribbon is solid-heated to form the specific material layer, a rod-shaped heater or a heat roll may be used in addition to the thermal head. Here, the heating and pressing type fixing device of the electrophotographic apparatus is suitable. further,
In the print image shown in FIG. 2A, for example, when only the metallic character “TEC” is necessary, or when “RESEARCH”
If the positional deviation from the character "CENTER" does not matter even if it is several millimeters, another machine such as a monochrome printer may be used for the metallic process. The position accuracy of this mark can be improved by detecting the position of this mark with a sensor.Furthermore, if the transferred object is a sticker like a tack, it can be pasted on a curved surface, etc. If heat and pressure are applied with a heat-resistant flexible member such as silicone rubber, metal foil can be transferred to curved surfaces, etc. Also, a transfer base layer is formed by a printer, and a specific material layer is formed by conventional hot stamping. In this case, since the pattern of the specific material layer is determined by the pattern of the transfer base layer, a solid mold can be used by hot stamping. When using a label sheet in which a plurality of label sheets are arranged at intervals on a mount, a normal label printer detects a difference in optical characteristics (light transmission amount) between the mount and the label sheet. Monochrome printers can be used without changing the current configuration in terms of positional accuracy because they are configured to compensate for misalignment, and in hot stamping for printing labels such as high-end foodstuffs, the mold position adjustment mechanism is used. Although it is provided to improve the accuracy, when the pattern of the specific material layer is determined by the pattern of the transfer base layer, the position adjustment of the mold can be simplified. It can be a solid type that can be used in common, and maintenance such as cleaning can be easily performed.

Next, a case where the print image shown in FIG. 2E is obtained will be described. In this print image, a metallic character representing "gold" is arranged in the circle of the sun on the sunshine flag transferred with the normal ink. In the thermal printer shown in FIG.
The ink layer is transferred from a red ink ribbon transfer film 7 as a transfer base layer by the thermal head 2, and the metallic layer is a metal foil ribbon transfer film 8 having a gold surface.
Is transferred as a specific material layer by the thermal head 3, and the ink layer is transferred from the transfer film 9 of the black ink ribbon by the thermal head 4. The thermal head 2 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (F), the red ink ribbon is heated with a circular pattern for the Hinomaru and a circular pattern for the ball of the pole,
As shown in FIG. 2 (G), the thermal head 3 has a character pattern in which characters representing "gold" are arranged in a first circular portion of the ink layer corresponding to the Japanese flag, and a pole without covering the first circular portion. The metal foil ribbon is heated in a square pattern arranged so as to cover the second circular portion of the ink layer corresponding to the ball with a solid, and the thermal head 4 has a pattern of the outer frame of the sun flag and the pole pattern as shown in FIG. Heat the black ink ribbon with. Here, the metal foil ribbon is heated in a square pattern to obtain a metallic layer aligned with the second circular portion of the ink layer corresponding to the ball of the pole. The heating may be performed in an arbitrary shape pattern set to a size larger than the circular portion. Therefore, the square pattern is arranged so as to cover the second circular portion with a radius which is about half the distance between the first circular portion of the ink layer corresponding to the Japanese flag and the second circular portion of the ink layer corresponding to the pole ball, for example. It may be changed to a circular pattern. Further, the displacement between the pole and the ball is not noticeable in the left-right direction, but is easily noticeable in the up-down direction due to these gaps. If the surface of the metallic layer is provided with a non-transfer function that prevents adhesion of the ink layer, the graphic pattern corresponding to the pole is set to overlap the metallic layer corresponding to the ball by at least the transfer position accuracy. That is, even if the black ink ribbon is heated in this graphic pattern, the ink layer of the pole is not transferred onto the metallic layer of the ball, so that no gap is formed between the ball and the pole.

As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the heating area has to be determined based on the image pattern, but this is automatically performed by software or a driver on the printer side or computer side. Such control will be described later. In any case, these methods and devices enable the desired pattern to be laminated and transferred with high accuracy without special skills such as adjusting the position of each material of the transfer object or the transfer film or exchanging the mold. Is obtained. Here, the desired characteristics have been described centering on the optical effect of the printed matter.

When a cloth, a nonwoven fabric, a paper washer, or the like is used as an object to be transferred, an actual flag or bib can be formed. Preferably, there are cloths and nonwoven fabrics made of polyethylene, nylon 6, acetate, polyester, etc., and the paper-washing resistance may be a paper-based material, but any material capable of ordinary offset printing is possible. is there. Therefore, it can also be used for a metal plate or sheet of stainless steel or the like coated with polyester or the like. In this way, a special film can be transferred in the same manner as a normal ribbon.

Next, a method for producing a transfer film capable of transferring the transfer base layer and the specific material layer will be described.

Here, a description will be given of a condition and a transfer film for performing a metal foil transfer obtained by a so-called hot stamping method using a thermal printer in a conventional metal foil transfer method requiring a mold.

In general, in hot stamping, 1
Transfer is performed by applying a heating and pressing force of about 1 to 10 kg / cm ^{2 at} 20 to 200 ° C. by an up-down transfer machine. At this time, there is no burn in the deposition anchor layer, etc.
In the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1, the heating is controlled by the energizing time, the temperature is arbitrarily variable from room temperature to 400 ° C., the feed rate of the transfer object is variable from 1 to 6 inches / second, and the energizing cycle and energizing pulse width are both variable. Although control is possible, the transfer condition of the normal hot melt ink is about 300 ° C. in a few μs under the adiabatic condition. Therefore, in this embodiment, 300 ° C. is considered in consideration of compatibility with the normal ink. It was used under conditions that would be acceptable. In addition, the pressure is also variable in the current printer,
２０20 kg / cm ² . As a transfer film that can be used under these conditions, it is not necessary to consider burnt as a result, and there is no problem even in a configuration in which burnt occurs due to hot stamping. The mold has a very large heat capacity and a long heating and pressurizing time, causing burns. Further, even if a high-definition mold is used, the applied energy is large and the application time is long, so that the cutting is poor. Therefore, what should be considered in the thermal printer is that the peeling from the base film and the adhesiveness with the transfer object are the most important as follows in order to cope with high-speed peeling under heating and pressure in several ms to several tens μs. .

The structure and manufacturing method of the transfer film in consideration of this will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a polyethylene terephthalate film, a polyethylene terephthalate film (hereinafter referred to as PE
Abbreviated as T film. ), A polypropylene film, a polyamide film, an acetate film, a cellophane film, etc., on one side of a base film 13 by using a coating apparatus such as a solvent coating apparatus, a hot melt coating apparatus, a rotogravure printing machine, and an acrylic resin, a cellulose resin. , Wax and other release layers 1
4 and then using a coating device such as a solvent coating device or a rotogravure printing machine, a thermoplastic resin such as an acrylic resin, a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, a two-component curing type polyisocyanate resin, or a polyamide resin. And a vapor-deposited anchor layer 14 of a thermosetting resin such as a urethane elastomer resin or a silicon resin, or crystalline poly-4-methylpentene-1 (hereinafter abbreviated as CMP). At this time, 160 to 200 is required for curing the thermosetting resin.
Although curing at ° C. is necessary, if the release layer is affected, it may be omitted, or the release layer and the deposition anchor layer may be made of the same type of resin or the same (combined use). The release layer and the vapor deposition anchor layer are mixed to some extent in the coating process, but there is no problem in the transfer performance.Either layer may have a sea-island structure such as a polymer alloy, or may have compatibility to be completely melted. . In order to provide a peeling function in the case of CMP, additives such as epoxidized fatty acid ester-based plasticizer, saponified ester wax of montanic acid, and silicone oil can be blended.
A thermoplastic resin such as a chlorinated polypropylene resin, a thermoplastic acrylic resin, a polyamide resin, a rosin-modified maleic resin can be blended, and a small amount (0.5 to 1.0)
Part), a thermosetting resin such as an n-butylated urea-melanin curable resin or a polyisocyanate curable resin may be blended. Further, a coloring material can be dispersed in both or either of the release layer and the vapor deposition anchor layer to give a desired color. Thereby, the above-mentioned gold or blue metallic becomes possible. Further, although pre-printing can be performed, as a step, a pre-printed layer 18 such as characters or patterns can be printed by a gravure printing machine before or after forming the deposition anchor layer. When a series of steps are performed by a gravure printing machine, it becomes equivalent to a multicolor gravure printing step. Alternatively, pre-printing can be performed with hot-melt ink as described later.

The solvent used for coating may be toluene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, MEK, etc., which are commonly used for gravure printing. ).

Further, the base film 13 provided with the release layer 14 and / or the deposition anchor layer 15 is transferred to a vacuum deposition machine, and a deposited metal foil layer 16 such as A1 serving as a specific material layer is formed on the deposition anchor layer surface. Is deposited according to a conventional method. Then, the base film having the metal foil formed thereon is transferred to a gravure printing machine, and the entire surface of the metal foil layer is coated with a hot-melt adhesive layer 17 such as an acrylic resin, a polyvinyl acetate resin, or a vinyl chloride resin. Is done.
This is dried to complete a transfer film for transferring a metal foil for a specific material layer by a lamination transfer device, for example, a thermal printer. The metal foil for the specific material layer may be formed by a thin film forming apparatus other than vapor deposition, such as sputtering or CV.
An inorganic or organic film can be arbitrarily formed by D or ion plating. Further, the patterning of the metal foil in advance can be performed by known photolithography or the like, or a known thin film process such as using a mask at the time of film formation can be used. Further, the patterning of the specific material layer is one of the main objects of the present invention as described above, and can be performed by the stack transfer device of the present application, for example, a thermal printer. The patterning and printing of the film in the transfer film formation process is selected in consideration of the required production amount, delivery time and price, or whether a special film such as a hologram is required and it is possible with a multilayer transfer device at hand Should. For example, a hologram pattern requires a resolution comparable to that of a heat transfer device having a laser beam as a heat source. Therefore, it is preferable to use a product such as a certain diffraction grating pattern film as the transfer film in order to obtain a specific material layer at a low cost. Children's seals are based on such grating patterns.

The physical properties such as the viscoelasticity of the base film, the transfer base layer and the specific material layer mainly affect the heat durability, dimensional accuracy, foil breakage, etc. of the laminated transfer body as the final product.
Since the steps of heating, pressurizing, and peeling are performed instantaneously in the printer, the conditions are milder than those of the up-down transfer machine. What is necessary as a transfer film for a thermal printer as a laminated transfer device of the present application is to satisfy the conditions described below.For example, if a wax base is used as a transfer base layer, the adhesive force during heating is small so that the adhesive force is large. It is said that peeling at the time of cooling is desirable, and peeling at the time of heating is desirable because if resin or wax / resin is used, the adhesive force is too strong when cooled. In any case, the desired properties can be obtained by measuring the viscoelastic properties of each layer, and can be selected experimentally by the material thickness. As an example of each material thickness, base film 4.5 μm / release layer + deposited anchor layer 1.3
μm / metal 400 / hot melt transfer underlayer 1μm
(Here, after coating by a reverse roll coating method, drying was performed with hot air at 120 ° C. and 50 m / min.).
The Al film could be patterned on plain paper at a resolution of 600 dpi by the thermal printer which is the stack transfer device of the present invention described in FIG. That is, a transfer body in which wax and metal aluminum were laminated on plain paper could be formed at high speed without using a mold or a plate. An ABS resin molded plate or the like can also be used as the transfer object, and a product (laminated transfer body) in which a mirror (optical component) and an image (printed material) having a desired pattern are formed on an acrylic plate on which a Fresnel lens is formed. When the deposition anchor layer was colored with a yellow color material described below, a transfer film such as a gold foil was obtained. As described above, first, the thickness and material of the transfer film are determined depending on what kind of product characteristics are required for the laminated transfer body, and it is necessary to determine a force relationship such as an adhesive force, which will be described later. When you want to obtain metallic luster, first measure it optically, and naturally find the minimum thickness in terms of price. In JIS-Z-8741 gloss measurement Gs60, glass is used as a reference (100%).
The measured value of glossiness when printing on plain paper with an ink in which metal powder was dispersed like ordinary ink was 50% or less, and in this example it was 200% or more, and mirror-like gloss was obtained. If a half mirror is required, a mirror forming technique using a normal metal foil, such as making the mirror a little thinner, can be applied.
As described above, the material and thickness of the film are determined depending on whether the required characteristic of the product is a decoration or a mirror. Thereafter, each layer other than this film is designed. As a matter of course, the object to be transferred and the transfer underlayer are also considered at the same time.

Next, the structure and manufacturing method of the transfer underlayer, the selective bonding function, and the like will be described.

In order to form a product having a desired pattern with high accuracy without displacement between the transfer base layer and the specific material layer, a specific material layer which cannot be directly thermally transferred to a transfer object is used. Use a transfer film of a specific material layer that can be heat-transferred onto the transfer target on which the ground layer has been transferred, or directly transfer heat to the transfer target, but heat transfer onto the transfer target on which the transfer base layer of the desired pattern has been transferred in advance. By using a transfer film of a specific material layer that is possible and cannot be thermally transferred directly to the object to be transferred during thermal transfer onto the transfer underlayer, a product with a desired pattern with high accuracy without displacement between the transfer underlayer and the specific material layer First, the transfer film used in the above-mentioned embodiment cannot be directly transferred to plain paper. Further, if the transfer object is not made of plain paper but is compatible with the transfer base layer of the transfer film, for example, if the transfer base layer is made of an acrylic resin plate, if the transfer base layer is made of acrylic, the film is directly transferred to the transfer base layer. It can be transferred to a body, and can be transferred only to a transfer base layer of a transferred body by a transfer base layer. Then, the example of the Fresnel lens was described above.

In order to satisfy the former requirement, there is a function of not adhering to paper or the like at the time of pressurizing and heating, or even if adhering, it is separated from the paper at the time of peeling and does not peel off from the ribbon. It needs a function to be fixed.

In order to satisfy the latter requirement, a function that does not adhere to paper or the like at the time of pressurizing and heating when a transfer base layer or the like is present, or a function that does not peel off from paper or the like at the time of peeling and does not peel off from the ribbon. In addition, a function of adhering and fixing the transfer underlayer is required.

Although it is necessary to satisfy the above-mentioned functions, that is, the power relationship, the normal ink and the transfer base layer will be described for the description of the power relationship, and the laminated transfer body of the present invention will be formed with the normal ink. Will be described.

Transfer with a thermal head using a wax-based ink as the normal ink has the advantage of being able to print on rough paper or plain paper, but has the advantage of abrasion resistance,
It is weak in light resistance, chemical resistance and the like, and it is difficult to use printed materials in various environments. Resin-based inks are used as those having excellent scratch resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance, etc., and thermosetting resin inks are excellent in scratch resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance, etc. There is a merit that. In addition, these normal inks include various dyes and have low transmittance to those having good transmittance, and those having characteristics that are hardly affected by the color of the base and those in which the base can be seen through. That is, since it also has optical characteristics, it can be used as a laminated transfer body for adding characteristics of an optical component. Naturally, in the case of an optical component such as a mirror, the function is lost when the reflective film is corroded, so that it is used to add the durability to the laminated transfer body.

When a laminated transfer body is obtained by a thermal head using these resin-based inks, the resin-based ink has a property that it is not directly transferred onto rough paper or plain paper, and therefore, has a high smoothness as a transfer-receiving body. Synthetic paper is used. As described above, synthetic paper has high durability such as abrasion resistance and is often used when a resin-based ink is used. That is, the durability of the transfer object itself is also required. However, synthetic paper is more expensive than plain paper, and cannot be torn or cut like paper and has a hard time treating as garbage when it has information, and is resistant to scratches, light, and chemicals. There is an increasing demand to use inks having excellent properties such as rough paper and plain paper. In other words, there may be cases where intermediate demands or all advantages are desired in terms of price and performance. The transfer film may be a laminate from the beginning, but is consequently established in consideration of the following force relationship.

There are two methods for obtaining transfer by a thermal head using resin-based ink on rough paper or plain paper. One is a method in which a transfer base layer is transferred in advance with a wax-based ink and then printing is performed with a resin-based ink. The ink ribbon for the transfer base layer is a conventional cold peel type (transfer ink to paper). Then, the ink and paper are separated after the ink cools down). As another method, a wax-based release layer is provided between a resin-based ink layer and a base (hereinafter, referred to as a wax resin-based ink). By peeling the ribbon from the paper when both wax-based components are in a molten state, the adhesive force of the resin-based ink to the paper is strengthened, and the resin-based ink is transferred to rough paper or plain paper. That is, this is an example of a transfer film that can be directly transferred in the present embodiment. However, the cost of a wax resin-based ink ribbon with a wax-based release layer provided on the resin-based ink is high, and the wax is mixed into the ink components, and the scratch resistance is sufficient to be obtained with a pure resin-based ink. Etc. cannot be obtained. Of course, if your aim is intermediate, you can be satisfied. Also,
When preparing an ink ribbon for the transfer underlayer separately,
The number of processes increases, and the cost is also high. In addition, when the ink ribbon for the transfer underlayer is used by peeling at a cold time, the transfer underlayer itself cannot be transferred to rough paper or plain paper or a hole is formed. When the above-described high-speed transfer underlayer transfer is performed, the transfer state is poor, and irregularities are formed on the surface of the transfer underlayer. In this case, the transfer rate of the resin-based ink, which is the specific material layer, is reduced, or the image quality of the printed matter is reduced. Although there is a problem that the temperature decreases, a hot peeling method may be used. As described above, since the transfer base layer as a substitute for coated paper is entirely transferred onto the paper, the print background remains as a trace of the transfer base layer, resulting in a problem of poor appearance and a problem of misregistration. When the laminated transfer body was used as a printed material in this example, no misregistration occurred and the printed material became inconspicuous. Of course, if it is a conventional transparent or white transfer underlayer, it will not be noticeable, but as described here, a ribbon having only the transfer underlayer is required.

As described above, the ink ribbon used as the transfer underlayer here also serves as a wax-based or wax-resin-based ink ribbon, that is, a normal ink. And so on. In addition, the thermal head has a heating element at the end, and has a structure in which each layer is peeled off from the transferred object while heating and pressurizing each layer, and uniform transfer of the transfer base layer to rough paper by hot peeling. Has been realized.

As the base film of such a transfer film for the transfer underlayer, polyethylene terephthalate, cellophane, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polyimide, etc. are applied.

The thickness of this base film is 1 to 15 μm.
m, but is preferably in the range of 1 to 6 μm in consideration of mechanical strength and transferability of the adhesive underlayer.

The release layer has a viscosity of 1 × 1 at 100 ° C.
0 4 ^cps or less, a layer wax material predominates. In order to form this release layer, wood wax, beeswax, carnauba wax, microcrystalline wax, paraffin wax, rice wax, polyethylene wax, polypropylene wax, oxidized wax and the like are used alone or in combination. The melting point of the release layer is preferably from 60 to 90C. This melting point is measured by a differential scanning calorimeter and corresponds to the center temperature of the endothermic peak.

The ink layer when the normal ink is used as the transfer base layer has the same viscosity as the release layer in the case of the wax-based ink, and the viscosity at 100 ° C. in the case of the wax resin is 1 × 10 ⁴ cps. Above 2 × 10 ⁶ cps or less, which can be controlled by the ratio of wax to resin, is a layer containing such a binder and a coloring agent as main components.

The resin used for the ink layer is as follows.
Petroleum resin, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene
Vinyl acetate copolymer, polyester resin, polyamide resin, acrylic resin, polystyrene and the like are used alone or in combination. Those obtained by mixing a wax component or laminating a wax layer are wax resin types, and those containing only a resin are called resin types. Also, if the metallic film is also a kind of ink ribbon, it is possible to give metallic luster for each color by sandwiching the aluminum vapor deposition layer in the ink layer, and it can be treated as a color ribbon such as red metallic it can. The binder is not limited to a thermoplastic resin, and a thermosetting resin can also be used.

As the coloring agent, carbon black or the like is used as black, and one or more dyes such as pigments such as phthalocyanine blue, Victoria blue and Lake Key Fast Sky Blue and dyes such as Victoria blue are used as cyan. use. Further, as a coloring agent for magenta, rhodamine lake B, rhodamine lake T, rhodamine lake Y, permanent red 4R, brilliant fast scarlet, brilliant carmine BS,
One or more of pigments such as permanent red F5R and dyes such as rhodamine are used. As a colorant for yellow, one or more kinds of pigments such as benzene yellow GR, banza yellow G, permanent yellow NCG and dyes such as auramine are used.

The densities of the release layer and the ink layer are both about 1 g.
/ Cm ³ , the ink layer of the wax-based or resin-based ink ribbon has a coating amount of 1 to 3 g / cm ² (about 1 to 3 μm in layer thickness), and the release layer and the ink layer of the wax-based resin ribbon have 1-3 g /
cm ² (approximately 1 to 3 μm in layer thickness) and the ratio is about 1: 1. The ratio is appropriately controlled depending on the required viscosity.

As the transfer underlayer of the present invention, the above-mentioned wax-based or wax resin-based can be used by hot peeling or cold peeling, and a resin-based ink or a transfer underlayer to be transferred as a specific material layer thereon is used. The material is selected from the above-mentioned materials. If the material has compatibility with the material of the transfer underlayer, an adhesive force satisfying a force relationship described later can be obtained. Resin-based resins compatible with the transfer object can also be used as the material of the transfer underlayer. All satisfy the power relationship of the necessary conditions.

Although it has been known that ink can be normally transferred to a smooth transfer target, it has been experimentally determined that the pressure is 20 kg / cm ^2.
It has been found that in the case of the transfer target having a surface roughness of 4 μm or more under the above pressure (as described above as rough paper), the conventional ink has holes or non-uniformity. Since the measurement under the pressure applied at the time of transfer is necessary for the measurement of the surface roughness, an optical dynamic printing smoothness measuring device microtopograph (manufactured by Toyo Seiki) was used. This apparatus measures a physical quantity proportional to the average depth of the depression of the transfer object when the transfer object is pressed against the plane of the prism, that is, a roughness Rp (printing graphness). Pressing reduces the roughness, depending on the elasticity of the transfer object.However, the pressing conditions are determined by the transfer rate and uniformity. Is determined in consideration of the occurrence of deterioration, but deterioration is likely to occur with a pressure of 20 kg / cm ² .

In an object to be transferred having a rough surface, the transfer must be performed while filling the unevenness with the transfer underlayer or reducing the unevenness by bridging the transfer underlayer. Therefore, in order to uniformly perform the transfer underlayer, the thickness of the transfer underlayer is appropriately adjusted according to the unevenness, but if the roughness at the time of pressurization is 4 μm, about 2 to 4 μm is sufficient. . When the transfer base layer has a sudden decrease in elastic modulus and viscosity when melted, such as a wax-based ink, the thickness may be set to 10 μm to 20 μm. It is necessary to adjust the energy, but if the energy is set as low as possible, even in a permeable transfer medium, the transfer base layer does not penetrate much, and filling and bridging can be performed. In particular, the energy is set so as not to be too large in the case of a wax system. This energy is determined experimentally. When the same material is compared, when the wax-based ink 1.5 μm is stacked and transferred on the wax-based transfer underlayer 4 μm, the energy applied during the transfer of the transfer underlayer is 10 to 40 times smaller than the energy applied during the ink transfer. % Lower was sufficient. In this embodiment, when the specific material layer is made of a metal other than ink, the difference is further increased. However, when a wax resin type or a resin type is used as the transfer base layer, it depends on the thickness of the specific material layer. The difference in applied energy between the transfer of the transfer underlayer and the transfer of the specific material layer such as metal was 0 to 50%.

Again, here is a description of the stack transfer procedure. In the transfer operation using plain paper as a transfer target, first, a transfer base layer is transferred to a sheet by a thermal head 2, and a specific material layer is transferred to a transfer base layer by a thermal head 3. These sheets, the transfer base layer, and A laminated transfer body in which specific material layers are stacked is formed. Even if the specific material layer of the transfer film has the property that it is difficult to transfer directly to the paper, a transfer underlayer having a desired pattern such as the character "A" is formed on the paper and covers this transfer underlayer. By heating the transfer film in such a pattern, the specific material layer can be adhered only to the transfer base layer. That is, the specific material layer does not adhere to the periphery of the transfer base layer, and is set to the same pattern as that of the transfer base layer.

The thermal printer according to the present embodiment usually uses four thermal heads of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black as a transfer film and a hot-release type wax resin ink ribbon as a transfer film. It is configured to perform color stack transfer.
In the case of forming a specific material layer composed of a resin or a special film having a high abrasion resistance or the like, the above-described transfer film is usually used at the position of the thermal head 2 and the resin or the specific material layer is formed. The transfer film of the special film is used at any or all positions of the subsequent thermal heads 3, 4, and 5. This is an example in which a normal ink ribbon can be used to form a transfer base layer for a specific material layer.

Next, the peeling method will be described. FIG.
5A shows a hot peeling method, and FIG. 5B shows a cold peeling method. It is schematically shown as an enlarged view of a part of the printer as the stack transfer device described in FIG. Therefore, the transferred object 6 shown by the broken line is moved from right to left,
Transfer films 7, 8 such as ink ribbons are also unwound from unwinding rolls 7a, 8a,
b, 8b. In the case of the hot peeling method, the peeling of the transfer film is performed immediately after the head 2 heats and presses. In the case of the cold peeling method, the transfer film is peeled off after a suitable cooling by the peeling plate 12. Which method is better depends on the uniformity of the transfer due to compatibility with the object to be transferred as described above. However, if the following conditions are satisfied in the transfer step of heat and pressure separation, To be transferred, a transfer underlayer, and a specific material layer can be used. Further, in this embodiment, the head is detachable, and it is easy to change the system depending on the presence or absence of the release plate. In addition, the release position of the release plate can be changed according to its length. It is appropriately adjusted depending on conditions such as each transfer material and transfer speed. This is also a means for satisfying the following power relationship. This is an example in which the degree of freedom on the transfer material side is increased by adjusting the transfer device side.

Force relationship: When a specific material layer is thermally transferred from a transfer film composed of a base film and a specific material layer of a desired material onto a transfer material on which a transfer base layer of a desired pattern has been previously transferred, there is no transfer base layer. In the part, at the time of heating and pressurizing and at the time of peeling, than the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transferred object,
The adhesive force between the base of the transfer film for the specific material layer and the specific material layer, and the holding power of the specific material layer itself are greater. Than the adhesive force of the specific material layer, the adhesive force of the specific material layer itself, the adhesive force of the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer, the adhesive force of the transfer underlayer itself, the adhesive force of the transfer underlayer and the transfer object, The holding power of the body itself is greater, and the adhesive strength between the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer at the part where the transfer underlayer is present is greater than the adhesive force between the base of the transfer film for the specific material layer and the specific material layer at the time of peeling. By using an object to be transferred, a transfer base layer, and a specific material layer such that the holding power of the transfer base layer itself is larger, there is no positional deviation between the transfer base layer and the specific material layer, and a highly accurate desired. A laminate transfer body of a pattern can be formed.

In the case where the specific material layer has a multi-layered structure due to functional separation or when the function is inclined and is non-uniform, the adhesion between the base of the transfer film for the specific material layer and the specific material layer and the transfer object The adhesive force between the specific material layer and the surface of the specific material layer is defined as the boundary, and the adhesive force at the boundary and each force are compared. If necessary, the coercive force at the weakest part of the specific material layer may be compared, and the coercive force at the strongest part of the specific material layer may be compared for the smaller one. In the specific material layer, when a portion having a low holding force is near the surface, the condition is such that the holding force is larger than the adhesive force in the magnitude relationship of the necessary conditions, and when the strong portion is near the surface, the inequality is used. It is assumed that the condition is satisfied, assuming that the adhesive force is greater. Alternatively, in this case, the conditions may be relaxed to be the same. In order to satisfy the necessary conditions as described above, the magnitude relationship may be practically designed as a material configuration, for example, a wax resin system. Alternatively, the material may be a uniform material and may be designed with a temperature gradient. Usually, the head side, that is, the base side has a high temperature.

In any case, in the case of a multi-layer structure, they are mixed at the interface at the time of forming each layer, or in some cases, as if they were an integrated layer due to compatibility. May not be clear. In the case of ink, it is only necessary to obtain the required color or durability, so that the desired color or durability can be obtained even if the ink is mixed with each layer or the transfer base layer if the condition of the force relation is satisfied. The required characteristics can be obtained.

In order to satisfy these necessary conditions, the conditions are specifically set according to pressure, adhesion, physical anchor effect, wettability, compatibility, temperature viscoelasticity, ribbon tension, transfer member tension, and speed. Thickness and the like are also set conditions, and there may be a trade-off when satisfying the force relationship and the required characteristic conditions such as gloss and protection, but due to the above-described material composition and temperature gradient, it was shown in the examples. Things meet both power relationships and special requirements. Basically, since the conditions related to the force must also be satisfied, the design can be made by the viscoelasticity of each material with respect to the temperature and the adhesive force due to the viscoelasticity or compatibility. For example, in the hot peeling method, the viscoelasticity of the material near the base side is reduced by heating in order to transfer the specific material layer by making the adhesive force on the transfer base layer side or the transfer object side larger than that of the material near the base side. Conversely, in the cold peeling method, the viscoelasticity of the transfer underlayer is increased by cooling in order to transfer the specific material layer by making the adhesive force on the transfer underlayer side or the transfer object side larger than that of the material near the base side.
Note that the measurement of viscoelasticity only provides a numerical value necessary for a schematic design, and that various conditions such as speed need to be confirmed by actual transfer. In the embodiment, the example of the metal foil is shown, but an inorganic material such as ceramic may be used. When these specific materials are in the form of a film, viscoelasticity may be ignored and shear force may be considered in comparison with the release layer or the adhesive layer. The shearing force required for cutting may be measured in advance, and the viscoelasticity may be designed as a layer (membrane) that is cut by a constant shearing force without being changed like a resin even when heated. Here, the adhesive force (adhesiveness) with the layer or material in contact with the film material may satisfy the above-mentioned force relationship. However, when a white or metal foil layer or the like is formed by using a powder of ceramic or metal as a pigment, it is necessary to consider that the viscoelasticity changes by heating. White ink is used for alumina and the like, but if black or brown powder or film material is used, a decorative or insulating laminated transfer body that expresses an inorganic object such as stone can be obtained. .

Examples of ink ribbon structures satisfying the above-mentioned force relationships: a half mirror, a hologram, a reflection plate (light diffusion film), a high light resistance, a high scratch resistance, and a thin mirror made of metal, ceramic, thermosetting resin, or the like. It has an ink (film) with functions such as high chemical resistance. Since these inks have a large holding force of the ink itself, they easily satisfy the above-mentioned force relationship.

The transfer layer has an adhesive layer, and the ribbon base has a release layer (release layer). Such a layer of the function separation type is a wax or a mixed layer of wax and resin. It is also possible to use the specific material layer as a wax / resin mixed type. Techniques include dispersion, emulsification, and the like, and in some cases, are called polymer alloys and have a sea-island structure. It is also possible to use a thermosetting resin / thermoplastic resin mixed type.

Also, as in the above-described wireless tag product,
With a metal foil, transfer of an electromagnetic shield film, electric circuit or wiring can be performed by conductivity. In order to maintain conductivity with a material that is easily corroded such as aluminum, a configuration in which a protective film is disposed in the same manner as maintaining metallic luster may be employed. The resistivity remained as metallic aluminum. Since the current capacity at this thickness is small, it is necessary to appropriately change this thickness. With a wiring pattern having a width of 35 μm, it could be used without heat generation up to about 0.2 W at a thickness of 1 μm. Since such a large current capacity is not required in many cases, for example, 0.1 μm
Setting the thickness as thin as possible is advantageous in terms of resolution and cost. In addition, durability (heat, oil, solvent, scratching, etc.) is guaranteed even for products obtained by hot stamping using a mold, and a protective film can be formed of the same material for wiring. When a transfer film for a specific material layer is formed so as to satisfy the force relationship, the wiring pattern can be transferred by a printer. Regarding the problem of the electric terminal, it was possible to directly solder with a copper film. This is because if the heat resistance of the protective film is set to about 200 ° C., the thermosetting resin is thermally decomposed and the metal foil comes into contact with the solder. As a matter of course, a conductive film such as gold or other metal or carbon can be transferred. Note that when mounting components by wire bonding, die bonding, or the like, it is necessary to consider the compatibility between the metals and the heating and pressing conditions during mounting such as bonding. In practice, it is necessary to form terminals (pads and the like) coated with a solder film before bonding.
In addition, it is also possible to place a metal foil as a multilayer film of solder and a certain metal as a film and transfer the metal multilayer film, or to combine with an insulating film with ceramic or the like or transfer only the insulating film. . Therefore, some electronic components and circuits such as resistors and electrodes can be transferred. A circuit including a resistor of 100 Ω could be transferred using only the aluminum film described above. Incidentally, the remaining film after transfer can also be used as a film having a negative pattern. For example, if the remaining pattern becomes a desired pattern, and after the transfer, if the remaining film is wound up and unwound, it can be used upside down, and if it is not rewound, the entire film is heated by the head. For example, a desired pattern can be transferred onto a transfer base layer. This pattern can be an electronic component or a printing component such as a halftone dot or a logo. Further, in the formation of the residual pattern, it is possible to pattern the transfer base layer when coating the transfer base layer by gravure printing in the above-described transfer film configuration, and the transfer process may be performed as exemplified here. When used, a desired pattern can also be formed by a method of transferring only the transfer base layer by lowering the thermal energy at the time of transfer.

As a matter of course, it is possible to transfer a pattern having an optical result such as refraction or diffraction, and it is also possible to transfer a film such as a hologram which has conventionally been punched out by a mold into a desired shape. The hologram film can be formed by a known method. However, in order to perform transfer by a thermal printer, the hologram film may be formed so as to satisfy the above force relationship. Conventionally, an optical effect film such as a reflecting mirror is transferred to a dedicated sheet or plate without transferring a transfer base layer, but in the present invention, a special film can be transferred to a desired transfer target such as plain paper without displacement. . Further, a heterogeneous film can be formed on the film transferred by the conventional method, or a transfer film can be formed with high accuracy other than the transfer portion of the transfer base layer. That is, a conventional transfer film can be used also as a transfer base layer, or can have a non-transfer function. As described above, the electromagnetic circuit and the optical circuit can be accurately formed on the same object by the selective attachment function and the non-transfer function. The non-transfer function is a function opposite to that of the transfer underlayer, and is a function that cannot be transferred onto a layer having a non-transfer function. Although this is shown in the example of FIG. 2, the protection layer is almost the same as improving the durability such as chemical resistance. In the case of wettability, if the material has a large contact angle, it does not adhere to the material.

The high-precision laminated transfer body is, for example, a circuit configuration for turning on / off light, or forming a light or magnetic memory. As a simple optical memory, it is only necessary to form a desired pattern on a desired transfer target because recording can be performed only by a difference in reflectivity. An application device and a drum type high-precision object transfer device are used. When a specific material layer or a transfer underlayer having a low light-to-heat conversion efficiency is transferred, a heat-resistant film such as PET, polyimide, or polyethylene terephthalate, which is colored (mainly black), is used as a heat-generating layer by adhering. . These are commonly used in the conventional laser thermal transfer system.

Here, with reference to FIG. 6, the control of the color thermal printer which is the laminated transfer device having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of the color thermal printer 1.

The thermal printer 1 has a CPU 21 for performing overall control, a ROM 22 for recording program data of processing performed by the CPU 21, and a CPU 21.
RAM with storage area for various data used in processing
23, a communication interface 24 for controlling data transmission with an external device such as a host computer connected via a line, and a system bus 25 connected between these components.

Further, the CPU 21 has a keyboard interface 27 for controlling data transmission with the keyboard 26,
A display controller 29 for controlling the display 28, a head unit 30, a paper transport control unit 32 for controlling the paper transport mechanism 31, and a ribbon transport control unit 34 for controlling the ribbon transport mechanism 33 are connected via the system bus 25. . The paper transport mechanism 3 is controlled by the paper transport unit 32.
1 transports the paper 11 along the paper transport path 6 so as to sequentially pass through the thermal heads 2 to 5. Under the control of the ribbon transport mechanism 33, the supply rolls 7a to 10a supply the transfer films 7 to 10 to the thermal heads 2 to 5, respectively, and the take-up rolls 7b to 10b respectively
The transfer films 7 to 10 used in Step 5 are wound respectively.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the head unit 30. As shown in FIG.

In the head section 30, the system bus 25 includes first to fourth head control sections 41 to 44 for controlling the first to fourth thermal heads 5 to 5, respectively, and the first to fourth thermal heads 2 to 44. First drawing memories 45 to 45 for storing image data for 4 thermal heads 5
It is connected to the fourth drawing memory 48, respectively. further,
The first drawing memory 45 to the fourth drawing memory 48 are also connected to the head controllers 41 to 44, respectively.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of the drawing process performed by the CPU 21. First, it is determined whether or not the mode is a stacked transfer body formation mode in which a transfer base layer is transferred and a specific material layer (special film) is transferred thereon.

Here, when it is determined that the mode is not the stacked transfer body forming mode, normal drawing processing is performed, and the drawing processing is terminated. As a normal drawing process, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image data are developed in the first drawing memory 45 to the fourth drawing memory 48, respectively.

If it is determined that the mode is the stacked transfer body forming mode, the desired pattern data for the specific material layer is developed into image data, and the developed image data is written into the first drawing memory 45. At this time, as described in FIG.
The transfer area of the transfer underlayer is determined based on the desired pattern to determine image data. The determination and determination will be described later. Here, the formation process of FIG. 2A will be described once again for easy understanding. That is, the transfer area of the transfer underlayer is determined to be the portion shown in FIG. 2B, and image data equivalent to this is written.

Next, the image data is painted (for example, one dot of image data) including at least the developed image data and taking into account the amount of deviation between the transfer position by the first thermal head 2 and the transfer position by the second thermal head 3. The image data is written into the second drawing memory 46). Here, FIG. 2 (C1) and FIG.
As shown in (C2), the image data was determined so as to cover the image area with a square. These are energy-saving when the area is smaller, and allowance for misalignment error when the area is wider. Therefore, the setting items are set as an energy-saving mode, a high-accuracy mode, and the like due to advantages of each method. Depending on the material and film thickness of the specific material layer, there is a case where energy consumption can only be increased at a low resolution, and there is a case where it is necessary to promote head replacement (replacement between hot peeling and cold peeling). Therefore, it may be stored as a software program. The details will be described later because they also overlap with the user interface.

Hereinafter, although not shown in the figure, "" shown in FIG.
Since RESEARCH CENTER "is normal ink, the desired ink is set in the remaining heads and drawing processing is performed in a drawing memory corresponding to the head.
As shown in (C1) and FIG. 2 (D), the image data corresponding to the heating area of the transfer film for the specific transfer material layer and the heating area for the transfer film of the normal ink (which may also serve as the precoat) are provided. If the distance is larger than the displacement error, the transfer order may be as shown in FIG. 2 (D) → FIG. 2 (B) → FIG. 2 (C1), or FIG. 2 (B) → FIG. 2 (D) → FIG. ) Or FIG. 2 (B) → FIG. 2 (C1) or FIG. 2 (C2) → FIG. 2 (D) as described above. If neither is possible, the positional combination of the head and the metal foil or ink transfer film must be changed. Although not described in this embodiment, a printer that automatically replaces an ink cassette with a single head can perform the same operation as the conventional ink selection, such as selecting the shortest time. Of course, since the number of cassettes increases, setting by the user is required.

When it is determined that the mode is not the stacked transfer body forming mode, the normal transfer processing is performed and the transfer processing is terminated. If the conditions such as something do not match the attached metal foil or ink transfer film, an error message is displayed and the user is urged to take measures. Of course, forcible printing can be performed according to the user's judgment, but there is a case where a displacement or a density change occurs.

As described above, there are situations where a user interface is required, and control by software in consideration of the transfer means and method will be described.

Normally, a software driver determines which transfer film or ink is to be used for stack transfer of a pattern (image or the like) created by a user using application software of a host computer, and controls the printer. For example, it is possible to know which metal foil or ink transfer film is set in the printer with a sensor, thereby reducing errors. When all the operations are performed by the user, the driver displays necessary information on the display device of the host computer and / or the printer, such as the presence or absence of a metal foil or an ink transfer film, and which head unit to set. In any case, the software usually supports setting such as setting on a screen or the like as user assistance. In this way, the user can perform the parts that cannot be performed by the printer. Although such conventional procedures and methods are omitted here, the applied energy pattern and the applied area (writing image) are determined so as to satisfy the condition desired by the user in the setting satisfying the force relationship. if,
If the user's desired condition is not satisfied, a closer setting candidate is displayed, and the user's judgment may be waited for.
In any case, parameters optimized by the combination of the transfer object, the transfer base layer, the transfer film, and the ink are stored in the driver or the ROM of the printer.

In the above description, an example in which only a transfer film made of metal foil is transferred by another monochrome printer or the like is described above. However, in a label printer or the like, the position of a label is also detected in a monochrome printer while detecting the position with a sensor. It is not necessarily a solid area heating, and FIG. 2 (B) and FIG.
1), FIG. 2 (C2), and FIG. 2 (D) can all be handled by a monochrome printer, but the host computer can also use a driver to instruct and confirm a series of operations. What is necessary is just to name the role sharing mode or the like and include it in the user selection.

As described above, the host computer and / or
Alternatively, an operation that cannot be performed on the printer side, for example, replacement of a metal foil or an ink transfer film or a head depends on the user. However, since an error can be detected, forced transfer may be performed as test transfer. The confirmation mode may be set.

It has been conventionally performed to change the applied parameters by using a metal foil or an ink transfer film and an object to be transferred. In addition, replacement of a head and selection of a peeling method are also performed. In this embodiment, what is particularly necessary is that when transferring a transfer film or ink designated by a user, what kind of transfer base layer is transferred by heating in what area, and in which area the specific material layer or ink layer is used. To heat the transfer film for use, and in what order they are performed. 2 (A) to 2
Since the basics have been described in (H), a specific example will be described below.

Examples of the configuration of the transfer underlayer and the transfer film for the specific material layer described above are as follows. When these are used, the heating areas and the order are determined by software.

* The normal ink and the transfer base layer are the same ribbon (also used) → All the conventional inks are white or colorless. * All the set normal inks have a selective adhesive function. → The transfer underlayer satisfies the above-mentioned force relationship with the current ink.

* The color of the transfer underlayer is the same system color as the specific material layer or the desired color. Example: With gold and yellow, mistakes are not noticeable. In other words, the only thing that looks like gold is the presence of a yellow colorant on the surface of aluminum.

* In the case of a laminated transfer body having only one specific material layer.

I. Investigation of desired pattern and range of layered transfer of specific material layer II. Investigation of the normal transfer range and determination of the color of the transfer underlayer (common use of the normal color and the transfer underlayer) Example: When the frame of the image is metallic and the characters surrounded by this are normal colors (hereinafter the normal colors in metallic) The standard color in the metallic and the precoat are also used. In FIG. 2E, a part of the Japanese flag is usually ink in an area surrounded by the letters "gold".

III. Determination of the transfer range of the transfer underlayer By using both the normal color and the transfer underlayer, the transfer can be performed simultaneously with one ribbon in one process. Simply, the heating range is the sum of the transfer area for the transfer underlayer and the normal color area.

IV. Determination of normal color range other than the same color as the transfer underlayer In FIG. 2E, the area is a pole area (H).

V. Determination of heating range for specific material layer, determination of transfer order → Mode selection is necessary because selection is made based on desired accuracy, power consumption, etc. As the mode setting of the positional deviation accuracy in the mode setting, it is preferable that the following can be handled as an apparatus.

A. B. Maximum position deviation in desired pattern + mechanism specification C. 1/2 of the distance between the desired pattern and the unnecessary adhesion portion such as the transfer base layer and the normal transfer portion. All solid (when there is no unnecessary adhesion ability part, white outline,
Halftone dots, etc.), and can be switched by software. As described above, energy is saved in the order of A>B> C.
User settings can range from simple settings such as energy saving priority or accuracy priority to those that include more technical explanations. Usually, several types are facilitated by the capabilities of the host.

* Laminated transfer body onto which a plurality of metal foils, special films, inks, etc. were transferred. Corresponds with special film + transparent ink. A gradation like a rainbow is also possible. Usually, the ink is preferably a translucent process color. For example, there has been a transfer target that has an aluminum vapor-deposited layer with a transfer base layer with ink on the surface of Lintec's silver namer, which can be used for full-color metallic printing by overlaying process color ink on this transfer target. There is. The problem is that since the transfer target is all metallic, patterning of the metallic film itself could not be conventionally performed. However, in the present embodiment, if the protective layer is the transfer base layer in the film configuration described with reference to FIG. The specific material layer that can be transferred can be transferred, and a film for full-color metallic in a desired pattern can be transferred. Normally, as described above, the protective film is non-transferable and has excellent durability. However, the surface of the film used here is easily stained. It is preferred that the protective layer is laminated and transferred according to the conditions.

II. At the time of transfer of the specific material layer or the ink layer, the transfer base layer and the specific material layer other than during the transfer are treated as unnecessary adhesion ability portions, and each transfer is dealt with. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, if it is desired to transfer several specific material layers such as red metallic, gold, and full metallic for each character of “TEC” in a pattern in which metallic and normal colors are separated from each other, as shown in FIG. (C1) may be further heated for each character. At this time, if "RESE
If FIG. 2 (D) of “ARCH CENTER” has been transferred first, the heating area is avoided as an unnecessary adhesion part in FIG. 2 (D) of the normal ink, so that the metal other than this transfer layer also has an unnecessary adhesion ability. It is possible to perform transfer for each desired specific material layer by judging it as a part, that is, even if the silver-namer type film is mixed, it is possible to perform layered transfer in consideration of the positional shift in advance.

III. If the existing layer other than the layer being transferred satisfies the force-related conditions at the time of transfer, it will be handled by the same processing as single transfer.

→ The non-transfer property is obtained by the protective film, but specifically, it may be incompatible or high in melting point, or only the transparent light-transmitting layer remains. (Even if it is not non-transferable, if only the transfer underlayer is transferred, it is colorless and transparent, so it is permissible that it does not affect the required properties.) , Specific material layer, normal transfer can be repeatedly transferred. At this time, the normal transfer layer can be selectively transferred onto the specific material layer or the object to be transferred.

For example, after the transfer base layer A and the specific material layer A are stacked and transferred, the next transfer base layer B and the specific material layer B are stacked and transferred. At this time, the transfer base layer A and the transfer base layer B may be used together, but it is necessary to back-feed the transfer target. The only point to be noted is that the transfer may not be performed on the specific material layer due to the protective film. When it is desired to show the transfer base layer pattern, that is, the lower layer, like a half mirror, another pattern transfer is performed on the transfer base layer A with the transfer base layer B (a transfer base layer having a different optical effect), and Overlap the specific material layer A of the half mirror,
If another specific material layer B is required, the transfer base layer B is transferred, and the specific material layer B is stacked and transferred. The transfer base layer B may be printed on the watermark pattern inside the half mirror and the area as the transfer base layer of the specific material layer B, or may be printed in another process. In any case, there is a user interface that allows the driver to know the transfer result, the transfer time, and the process in advance. This can also be displayed or hidden at the discretion of the user. Usually a black box is fine.

In the lamination transfer step, examples of the heating area and the heating order will be described below.

** Transfer Method, etc. Notes for actually transferring various patterns and techniques for making such patterns more beautiful are listed for each desired pattern. The software (driver) that realizes these uses the following transfer process as an algorithm.

** Metallic on the ground color (FIGS. 2 and 9) * The transfer base layer is transferred in a desired metallic pattern, and the metallic layer is entirely solid (larger than paper or the like or includes a desired pattern). And heat it. That is,
The metallic head need not be a normal thermal head.

* The transfer base layer is transferred with a desired metallic pattern, and the metallic layer is heated with a slightly larger solid than the pattern. Even if the desired pattern is shaded, it is heated with a solid.

The transfer underlayer may be colorless. It can be made inconspicuous if it is colorless.

When the transfer underlayer is intended to improve the gloss and durability of the surface of paper or the like, and the entire transfer underlayer is to be transferred (covered), the above step may be performed after the transfer is completed. This is because the force relationship can be realized by the step between the cover and the step, that is, the step between the transfer underlayer, and the transfer underlayer and the cover can be used together.

** A plurality of normal transfer and metallic are not in contact with each other on the ground color (FIG. 10). The normal color is transferred in the desired pattern of the normal color, and then the transfer base layer is transferred in the desired pattern of the metallic. The metallic material is generally heated slightly larger than the desired metallic pattern in a non-contact range with the color. At this time, if there is a possibility that the heating range touches a normal color (unnecessary bonding function portion) due to a positional deviation error, a normal ink without a bonding function (such as an ink with a protective film) is used for the corresponding portion.

Further, it is efficient to transfer at least one of the normal colors simultaneously with the same (shared) transfer base layer.

** Normal color on top of ground color and metallic inside normal color (FIGS. 11 and 12) Normal ink is transferred in a desired pattern, and then a transfer base layer is transferred in a desired metallic pattern. The metallic is heated in the desired metallic pattern. However, in a non-contact area (such as a boundary with the ground color) that is not in contact with a portion desired to be expressed by a normal color, the solid pattern may be heated slightly larger than the desired metallic pattern. For example, in the case of metallic shading, the transfer base layer may be a shaded pattern, and the metallic layer may be solidly heated, even if it does not correspond to each of the mesh patterns.

Alternatively, it is preferable that the ink and the transfer base layer are the same and the transfer is performed simultaneously.

When a desired pattern is a continuous curve or straight line in which the contact portion and the non-contact portion are continuous, the deviation is noticeable when the pattern is shifted. Therefore, in order to transfer with high precision, the contour of the metallic pattern inside the normal color is usually used. It is preferable to make the non-contact state substantially by removing the base color with a ground color or providing a step by overlapping the transfer base layer with the normal color.

** The normal color and the metallic color are adjacent to the ground color, and the boundary between the normal color and the ground color is continuous with the boundary between the metallic color and the ground color. (FIG. 13) Normal ink is transferred in a desired pattern, a transfer base layer transfers a metallic desired pattern, and a portion of the metallic adjacent to the normal ink is heated in the desired metallic pattern. Heat slightly thicker.

** White print with metallic background on solid color or solid white inside (FIGS. 14 and 15) When base color is white, transfer base layer is white The pattern is transferred with a desired metallic pattern, and the metallic layer is heated with a solid pattern, or the outer periphery is heated with a pattern wider than the desired pattern, and the white portion is heated with a smaller white pattern.

** Metallic having normal pattern inside ground color (FIG. 16) When the ground color is the desired color (normal color), the blank pattern is transferred to the desired normal color pattern by the transfer base layer. The metallic layer is heated by solid heating or the outer periphery is heated by a pattern wider than the desired pattern and smaller than the desired pattern.

When the ground color and the desired color are different, it is preferable that the normal ink, the transfer base layer, and the metallic layer are sequentially transferred in a laminated manner, and the normal ink is preferably transferred larger than the desired pattern. The desired metallic pattern is transferred to the underlayer, and for the metallic layer, the pattern to be removed is heated smaller than the desired area and larger at the boundary with the ground. Although it depends on the level difference and the adhesive force with the normal ink, the entire metallic layer is possible.

When the normal ink and the transfer base layer are the same, the normal ink is transferred so as to form a region (sum by logical operation) in which the desired normal color pattern and the metallic pattern are combined, and the metallic is transferred to the inner portion. The portion corresponding to the normal ink pattern, that is, the blanking pattern, is heated with a desired pattern, and the boundary with the ground is heated relatively large.

** Colored metallic based on silver (multicolored metallic is also possible) (FIG. 17) When the transfer target is a metallic material, an area equivalent to the desired pattern (or an area of logical sum in the case of multiple colors) Heat transfer with silver (substitute for silver namer), which has a colorless and transparent normal ink-compatible material layer (selective adhesive function) on the surface, and form the desired pattern with the desired translucent color (yellow for gold, blue for blue metallic, etc.) Transfer by lamination.

Alternatively, the object to be transferred is made to correspond to the metallic material by the transfer underlayer, and the layer is transferred at the same time.

→ It is better that the metallic luster is thicker. Conventionally, fine patterns cannot be formed, but in this embodiment, it is possible to achieve both high resolution, multicolor metallic, and halftone metallic. (Comparative example, hot stamping sample: Yamadai Meisho, high resolution cannot be obtained even if the metal thickness is reduced because the heat capacity of the mold is excessive and the heating and pressing time is long as described above.) ** Metallic on both sides (wind Display)
(FIG. 18) When the transfer object is a metallic material and a normal ink material and the metallic surface is a normal ink material, the transfer object is a colorless and transparent sheet (usually a seal) such as PVC, and the transfer is performed. Transfer the underlayer with the desired back color (yellow for gold, blue for blue metallic, etc.) to transfer the desired pattern on the back (mirror target pattern), transfer the entire solid color of silver with heat, and transfer the desired transparent pattern with the desired front pattern. Normally, ink is transferred.

In the case of forming a white background or a black background with an ink having low translucency, a pattern which is the same as or slightly larger than the desired metallic backside pattern is transferred with the ground color ink before the heat transfer of all the silver in the above process. When silver is entirely transferred by heating, and then transferred with a ground color ink in a pattern equivalent to or slightly larger than the desired surface metallic pattern, a part of the double-sided metallic is obtained on a white background or the like.

** In case of exceeding head width (FIG. 2 (C
1)) In a serial printer, a seam is formed when transferring with a width equal to or larger than the head width, and the seam becomes conspicuous due to a gap or overlap. This is because the overlapping portion has a high density.

[0140] Therefore, since the gap is conspicuous but has little overlap since the metallic material has little translucency, and it is preferable that the metallic ink is hardly attached to the metallic ink, so that the transfer heating is performed so as to overlap. As a result, the overlapping portion is not transferred by lamination. If transcribed, it is not very noticeable.

Further, in the case of a logo or a mark, it is preferable that the seam does not cover the specific material layer, or that the seam does not overlap as much as possible.

** Special film (hologram, transmission type metallic is also possible) Conventionally, as a laminated transfer body that required a mold, there is a transmission type metallic such as a hologram or a half mirror. Become. Films containing non-solid striped horse or tiger pattern metallic or company names can also be used. Light diffusion film (reflection plate) is also available. Film with ceramic film (protection, surface modification, appearance change) is also available.

When it is desired to use a transmission type ink, the previously transferred pattern or color such as a transfer base layer can be seen through.
In addition, a laminated transfer body having a special function, which has a glossy effect and an optical phenomenon utilizing a hologram or diffraction (image changes depending on the viewing direction such as iridescence) can be obtained.

→ Comparative sample, sample without press: Osaka sealing (seal for children, etc.) *** How to determine the transfer heating range of the transfer base layer and the specific material layer The user creates a desired pattern (image) with the application, and the driver The following describes how to determine and determine which transfer film or ink is to be transferred or heated.

** Transfer range and process The above-mentioned method is used so as not to cause displacement, but the worst case is determined so as to be within the maximum displacement.

At the boundary with the non-adhesion range, the maximum deviation is set larger or the transfer base layer or the previously transferred ink (the ink which does not double as the transfer base layer but has a noticeable adhesion even if it is not used. Is to be transferred.) The distance is set to be a half of the distance from the distance. As described above, there is a case in which the result of the OR operation is all solid, but in some of the above cases, the pattern is determined to be all solid. In the examples so far, those which can be judged as conditions that do not adhere all except the metal portion correspond to this. The following are some of the conditions for judgment.

* The normal color and the transfer base layer are the same (also used) → The normal color area is judged to be an unnecessary adhering portion.

* The normal color in the metallic and the transfer base layer are the same. → The normal color area is judged to be an unnecessary adhering portion.

* All normal colors have a selective bonding function. →
The normal color area on the transfer object is judged to be an unnecessary adhesion portion.

The judgment is made based on the state and the order.

Since these conditions are also conditions that can reduce the number of transfer steps when used together, first, as a prerequisite, check with the replacement ink owned by the user, and recommend the user to replace the ink. enter.

First, the range of the transfer base layer is determined, and the ink that also serves as the transfer base layer and the normal color is determined, and the range of the normal color and the transfer base layer is determined. After that, the range of other normal colors is determined, and the metallic range is determined and determined.

In the case of a plurality of metallic transfers, if the above-mentioned multi-color metallic cannot be used, the applicable portions are divided into ranges. The method of separation is determined based on whether metallic is possible on metallic or not, and how the adhesive force to the transfer underlayer or the transfer receiving body depends on the step.

The pattern case described above may be built in the driver and displayed as a reference pattern when the user creates an image. Further, recommended inks and films necessary for that purpose may be displayed. All are determined by the above-mentioned force relationship, and depending on the conditions such as the combination and speed of the transfer object and ink, specific material layer transfer film, transfer base layer, what can be transferred on what, and what can not be completely transferred Since information such as “unstable transfer” or “unstable transfer” is stored in the table, printing can be performed automatically as long as there is information on the consumables owned by the user.

As described above, according to the present invention, a film of a metal or the like is laminated and transferred in a desired shape by heating and pressing on a transfer-receiving body without using a mold or a plate. Thus, a laminated transfer body forming apparatus can be used without acquiring special techniques.

Further, it is possible to form a highly accurate desired pattern without displacement between the transfer base layer and the specific material layer.

In addition, a special film such as a resin-based ink can be laminated and transferred at high speed and with high precision onto a transfer target, such as rough paper or plain paper, which has not been possible before. A good-looking laminated transfer body can be obtained without leaving traces of the stratum. Also, since there is no need to prepare a transfer film ribbon for the transfer underlayer again, a laminated transfer body of a specific material layer excellent in abrasion resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance, etc. is inexpensively formed on a transfer target with a rough surface. Can be obtained.

As the special film, almost any material can be used as long as it can be made into a thin film. Metallic gloss, conductivity, inorganic, matte film, insulation, abrasion resistance, high friction property or abrasion can be used. A film with a film (sandpaper) can be used, and at least a part of an optical effect film such as a reflection film, a semi-reflection film, a semi-transmission film, a transmission film, a non-transmission film, a refraction film, a diffraction film, and a scattering film. By having this, a decorative transfer effect, an optical effect, and an electromagnetic effect can be imparted to the laminated transfer body.

It is possible to transfer a film capable of adding a desired color including multicolor and halftone to an optical effect such as gloss in a desired pattern.

A film having a pattern in advance, for example, a desired fine characteristic pattern film such as a trade mark, hatching, or a grating can be transferred to a desired pattern. Further, the film pattern can be formed from a film of a desired material.

A film-like optical component, an optical circuit and / or an electromagnetic component, and an electromagnetic circuit can be formed by the transfer base layer or the specific material layer.

[0162]

According to the present invention, there is provided a stacked transfer body forming apparatus and a stacked transfer body forming method capable of transferring a transfer material such as metal or ink to a transfer target with high positional accuracy without requiring a mold or a plate. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a side structure of a color thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a print image in which normal ink and metal foil obtained in the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 are mixed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a first transfer film used in the thermal printer shown in FIG.

4 is a sectional view of a second transfer film used in the thermal printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a peeling method for peeling a transfer film from a thermal head of the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1;

6 is a block diagram schematically showing a control circuit configuration of the thermal printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a drawing processing circuit of the thermal printer shown in FIG.

8 is a flowchart of a printing process performed by the thermal printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a first print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a second print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

11 is a view for explaining a third print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a fourth print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a fifth print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

14 is a view for explaining a sixth print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a seventh print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an eighth print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

17 is a view for explaining a ninth print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

18 is a diagram for explaining a tenth print image which can be printed by the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and in which normal ink and metal foil are mixed.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining hot stamping performed by a conventional up-down transfer machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2, 3, 4, 5 ... thermal head 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a ... platen 6 ... paper transport path 7, 8, 9, 10 ... transfer film 7a, 8a, 9a, 10a ... supply roll 12 ... release plate 13 ... Base films 14, 15: Deposited anchor layer 16: Deposited metal foil layer 17: Adhesive layer 18: Pre-printed layer 21: CPU 22: ROM 23: RAM 24: Communication interface 25: System bus 26: Keyboard 27: Keyboard interface 28 ... Display 29 ... Display controller 30 ... Head unit 31 ... Paper transport mechanism 32 ... Paper transport controller 33 ... Ribbon transport mechanism 34 ... Ribbon transport controller 41,42,43,44 ... Head controller 45,46,47,48 … Drawing memory

Claims (32)

[Claims] 1. A transfer film including a specific material layer, which is disposed so as to cover a transfer base layer of a desired pattern formed on a transfer object, is heated and peeled while applying pressure to the transfer film side. A variable area heating unit for transferring a material layer; and the variable so that the transfer film is heated by a heating pattern larger than a pattern of the transfer underlayer by at least a positional deviation margin between the transfer underlayer and the variable area heating unit. A control unit that controls a region heating unit to obtain a laminated transfer body in which the contour of the specific material layer matches the contour of the transfer underlayer by the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer. An apparatus for forming a laminated transfer body, comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the specific material layer is formed of a material which can be thermally transferred to the transfer underlayer by setting a transfer condition of the specific material layer lower than a condition for direct thermal transfer to a transfer target. Item 2. The laminated transfer body forming apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The specific material layer is made of a material that can be thermally transferred to the transfer underlayer and cannot be directly thermally transferred to the transfer object by setting the transfer conditions of the specific material layer to be substantially the same as the conditions for direct thermal transfer to the transfer object. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stacked transfer body forming apparatus is configured. 4. The transfer medium, the transfer underlayer, and the specific material layer are attached to the base of the transfer film and the specific material layer in a region where the transfer underlayer does not exist when the transfer film is heated and pressurized and peeled. The adhesive force and the holding force of the specific material layer itself are larger than the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer target,
The holding power of the specific material layer itself, the adhesion between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer, the holding power of the transfer base layer itself, The adhesive force and the holding force of the transfer object itself are larger than the adhesive force between the base of the transfer film and the specific material layer, and the adhesion between the base of the transfer film and the specific material layer in the area where the transfer underlayer exists at the time of peeling. 2. The material according to claim 1, wherein the material is such that the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer and the holding force of the specific material layer itself are larger than the adhesive force.
5. The laminated transfer body forming apparatus according to item 1. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer base layer is a colorless or colored hot-melt ink based on wax, wax resin, or resin. 6. The transfer film is at least a base,
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer film is a transfer film including a release layer, a specific material layer, and an adhesive layer that can be thermally bonded to the transfer base layer. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific material layer contains a metal. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific material layer contains a ceramic. 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific material layer includes a thin film in at least a part thereof. 10. An optical effect film such as a reflective film, a semi-reflective film, a semi-transmissive film, a transmissive film, a non-transmissive film, a refractive film, a diffractive film, a scattering film, etc. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer contains at least one of a thermosetting resin and a thermoplastic resin. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer includes an electromagnetic function film such as a conductive film, an insulating film, a resistive film, a magnetic film, and an antistatic film. 5. The laminated transfer body forming apparatus according to item 1. 13. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transfer base layer and the specific material layer includes a plurality of hot melt ink layers. 14. The heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as not to cover other layers formed in the surface of the transfer object in the vicinity of the transfer base layer. 2. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to 1. 15. The heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as not to partially cover the transfer underlayer when a desired symbol is formed by the specific material layer and the transfer underlayer. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to claim 1. 16. The heating pattern of the transfer film is set for the specific material layer independently of the pattern of the transfer base layer when a desired symbol is formed by the transfer base layer. 2. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to 1. 17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the specific material layer has a function of selectively bonding with another layer. 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the specific material layer is an optical effect film such as a reflection film, and is covered with a translucent process color layer. 19. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transfer base layer and the specific material layer has a non-transfer function of another layer in at least a part thereof. 20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific material layer is patterned in advance so as to form a desired symbol on the transfer film. 21. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific material layer is patterned in advance so that desired symbols are hollowed out in the transfer film. 22. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laminated transfer member forms an optical component, an optical circuit, an electromagnetic component, and an electromagnetic circuit. 23. At least one of the transfer underlayer and the specific material layer is an optical component, an optical circuit, an electromagnetic component,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus forms an electromagnetic circuit. 24. The control unit according to claim 19, wherein when the transfer base layer is transferred by the variable region heating unit in addition to the specific material layer, the transfer base layer and the specific base material are transferred based on the type and pattern information relating to the specific material layer. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pattern determination unit configured to determine a heating pattern for the specific material layer. 25. The variable area heating unit, comprising: a thermal head comprising at least one heating element;
And a transfer underlayer and a specific material layer which can be transferred only to the other layer when the object to be transferred has another layer formed in advance, which includes any one of an electromagnetic wave irradiation means and a pre-formed layer. 25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the transfer is performed in at least one of the following formats. 26. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the transfer base layer and the specific material layer have compatibility. 27. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating pattern of the transfer film has a similar shape at least partially along the contour of the pattern of the transfer base layer. 28. The heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as not to spread over a position substantially half the distance between the transfer base layer and another layer adjacent to the transfer base layer. 2. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to 1. 29. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating pattern of the transfer film is set so as to be widened within twice the displacement margin. 30. The heating pattern of the transfer film is such that, when a desired symbol is formed by the specific material layer and the transfer base layer, the heating pattern spreads out of the transfer base layer without partially covering the transfer base layer. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is set. 31. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object to be transferred is translucent, and has the desired pattern and the mirror-finished pattern on the back surface of the transfer base layer and the specific material layer. The stacked transfer body forming apparatus according to the above. 32. A step of forming a transfer base layer having a desired pattern on a transfer target body, arranging a transfer film including a specific material layer so as to cover the transfer base layer, and heating the transfer film while applying pressure to remove the transfer film. Transferring the specific material layer to the transfer object side by a variable area heating unit, wherein the transfer step is performed by shifting the transfer film by at least a margin of misalignment between the transfer base layer and the variable area heating unit. The variable area heating unit is controlled so as to be heated in a pattern larger than the pattern of the transfer base layer, and the outline of the specific material layer is formed by the adhesive force between the specific material layer and the transfer base layer. A method for forming a laminated transfer body, comprising the step of obtaining a laminated transfer body having a contour.