JPS6213388A - Thermal transfer material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a compact design, ensure advantageous thermal efficiency and energy conservation and prevent deformation or breakage of a thermal transfer material or fusing of the material to a thermal head from occurring, by constituting a base of an aromatic polyamide film having a specified thickness. CONSTITUTION:An aromatic polyamide film having a thickness of 0.5-4.0mum is used as the base. A basic skeleton of the polyamide comprises a structural unit of the general formula, wherein each of Ar and Ar' is subst. or ubsubst. arylene such as phenylene, and (n) is a polymerization degree, as a main constituent, and the basic skeleton part can be obtained from a combination of a diamine and a dicarboxylic acid or a derivative thereof, e.g., a combination of an acid halide and a diamine or a combination of a diisocyanate and a dicarboxylic acid, by interface polycondensation, low temperature solution polymerization or the like. The thickness of the film must be 0.5-4.0mum, and is preferably 1.0-4.0mum. A heat-fusible ink layer can be constituted by using a heat- fusible binder and a coloring materia as main constituents.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer material.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, with the rapid development of the information industry, various information processing systems have been developed, and recording methods and devices suitable for each information processing system have also been developed and adopted. One such recording method is the thermal recording method.
The equipment used is lightweight, compact, noiseless, and has excellent operability and maintainability, so it has been widely used recently.

However, among the recording papers used in thermal recording methods, ordinary thermal recording paper is a color-forming processed paper containing a color former and a color developer, so it is expensive, and records can be tampered with. The paper has disadvantages in that it has poor storage stability, such as the paper easily developing color due to heat or organic solvents, and the recorded image fading in a relatively short period of time. A thermal transfer recording method has recently been attracting particular attention as a method that maintains the advantages of the above-mentioned thermal recording method and compensates for the drawbacks associated with the use of thermal recording paper.

This heat-sensitive transfer recording method generally uses a heat-sensitive transfer material formed by melt-coating a heat-melt ink consisting of a colorant dispersed in a heat-melt binder onto a sheet-like support. is superimposed on a recording medium so that its heat-melting ink layer is in contact with the recording medium, and heat is supplied from the support side of the thermal transfer material to a thermal head to transfer the melted ink layer to the recording medium. Second, a transferred recorded image is formed on the recording medium according to the heat supply shape (pattern). According to this method, it is possible to maintain the above-mentioned advantages of the heat-sensitive recording method, use plain paper as a recording medium, and eliminate the above-described disadvantages associated with the use of heat-sensitive recording paper.

Conventionally, polyethylene terephthalate film (hereinafter referred to as PET film) is often used as a support for thermal transfer materials, and in order to make the transfer material more compact, improve heating efficiency, and save energy, the support has to be made thinner. Attempts are being made. In addition, in order to perform high-speed printing, printing heating /4
Attempts have also been made to melt the ink with a high amount of thermal energy by shortening the pulse period.

However, conventional PET films have a heat deformation temperature of around 240°C and a continuous heat resistance temperature of around 150°C, and in order to withstand the surface temperature of 250 to 300°C of the thermal head that is normally used, the thickness must be 6 μm or more. It needs to be thick.

Further, when the temperature of the thermal head is further raised to increase the applied heating energy i, there is a problem that the PET film is melted, holes are formed, and the film is fused to the thermal head, resulting in poor running.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The present invention solves the conventional problems, adapts to various conditions for loading the support, and further optimizes the material and dimensions, thereby enabling efficient and energy-saving thermal transfer recording. This invention was made to provide a heat-sensitive transfer material that can also be used for high-speed printing.

[Means for solving problems]

That is, the thermal transfer material provided by the present invention has a heat-meltable ink layer on a support, and the support is an aromatic polyamide film having a thickness of 0.5 to 4.0 μm. This is a characteristic feature.

[Detailed description and examples of the invention]

The aromatic, % IJ amide film used in the present invention is
(In the formula, Ar and Ar' each represent an arylene group such as an optionally substituted phenylene group.

n represents the degree of polymerization. ], and this basic skeleton can be obtained by a combination of duamine and ducarzanoic acid, or a derivative thereof, such as an acid halide and Noah, by a conventionally known method.

Specific examples of the structural unit of the general formula include the following.

(However, X and Y each represent a hydrogen atom, halo)r'niag atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a nitro group, or a phenyl group. ] Furthermore, the aromatic polyamide film used in the present invention may contain one or more types of sulfone bonds such as hoga-like sulfone bonds or ether bonds such as these of the basic skeleton. Further, in addition to the amide bond found in the basic skeleton, it may contain a urea bond or an imide bond.

The thickness of the aromatic polyamide film used in the present invention is 0.
．． It needs to be 5 to 4.0 μm, but more preferably 1.0 to 4.0 μm.
It is desirable that the thickness be 4.0 μm. If the thickness is less than 0.5 μm, the tensile strength of the film will decrease and it will not be able to be used as a support during the production or use of thermal transfer materials. Poor thermal efficiency (and poor responsiveness during high-speed printing)
Moreover, it is impossible to make the thermal transfer material compact, which is not desirable.

The heat-melting ink layer used in the present invention can be composed of a heat-melting binder and a coloring material as main components.

As the heat-melting binder, carnauba wax,
Waxes such as Crufin wax, Sasol wax, Microcrystalline wax, Castor wax;
Higher fatty acids such as stearic acid, valmitic acid, lauric acid, aluminum stearate, lead stearate, barium stearate, zinc stearate, zinc gulumitate, methyl hydroxide stearate, glycerol monohydroquine stearate, or their gold Derivatives such as layer salts and esters, polyamide resins, polyester resins, high molecular weight epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, polyacrylic resins (e.g. polymethyl methacrylate, polyacrylamide), polyvinylpyrrolidone, etc. vinyl resins, polyvinyl chloride resins (e.g., vinyl chloride-pinyline chloride copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, etc.), cellulose resins (e.g., methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, etc.), J ! J vinyl alcohol resin (
(e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, partially saponified polyvinyl alcohol, etc.), petroleum resins, rosette derivatives, coumaron-
Indene resin, chill resin, novolac type phenolic resin, polystyrene resin, lyolefin resin (
For example, polyethylene, polyglopyre/, polybutene,
(ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, etc.), polyvinyl ether resins, teriethylene glycol resins, nidistomers, natural rubber, styrene-butanoene rubber, isoprene rubber, and the like.

As the colorant, all of the various dyes and pigments used in the fields of printing and recording can be used. For example, carbon black, Nigro 7 dye, lamp black, Sudan Gera, RiSM, First Niro, Penz Shinyu Yellow, Hygmento Yellow, India First Orange, Irgason Red, Varanitroaniline Red, Toluidine.・Red, Carmine FB, Permanent Bordeaux FRRX t:'Gement Orange R1 Resole Red 2G, Lake Red 010-Damin F
B.

Rhodamine B Lake, Methi/L/1 Violet B Lake, Phthalocyanine Blue, Pigment Blue, Brilliant Green B1 Phthalone Anine Green, Oil Yellow GG, Zapon First Niro GG, Kayaset Y963, Kayaset YG, Sumiplast Yellow G, Depon First Orange RR, Oil Scarlet, Sumigerast Orange G1 Orazole Brown B1 Depon First Scarlet OG, Eisenspiron Red BEH, Oil Pink OP1 Victoria Blue F4R, First Demple-5007, Sudan Blue, Oil Known dyes such as peacock glue
All pigments can be used. It is usually preferable to use these colorants in a proportion of 3 to 300 parts by weight, for example, based on 100 parts by weight of the heat-melting binder.

Two or more types of these heat-melting binders and colorants may be used. In addition to these, additives such as plasticizers and oil agents may also be used.

In order to obtain the thermal transfer material of the present invention, the heat-melting binder, colorant, and additives described above for the ink layer are melt-kneaded using a dispersion device such as an attritor, or kneaded with an appropriate solvent. The ink may be formed by obtaining a heat-fusible ink or a solution or dispersion ink, coating the ink on a support, and drying if necessary.

The planar shape of the thermal transfer material of the present invention is not particularly limited, but it is generally used in the form of a typewriter ribbon or a wide tape used in line printers. Further, for color recording, it is also possible to use a heat-sensitive transfer material in which heat-melting inks of several different tones are applied in stripes or blocks.

The thermal transfer recording method using the above thermal transfer material is not particularly different from a normal thermal transfer recording method, and a heat source such as a thermal head or a laser beam can be used as a heat source for thermal transfer recording. EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples.

Example 1 Formulation 1 Each component of the above formulation was heated to 100°C and heated in a sun mill for 3 minutes.
Ink 1 was prepared by dispersing Kagen Plaque by mixing for 0 minutes. Hot-melt coating the ink onto a 2.0 μm thick aromatic polyamide film using a Meyer bar to form an ink layer with a thickness of 4 to 5 μm, followed by thermal transfer (1).
I got it. 140μfrL vertically 150f per dot
0.66mp using im's 24 do, g configuration and heating element
When printing was carried out on the thermal transfer material (1) and the recording paper at a printing speed of 20 cps using the /dot printing flannel, no damage to the film base material was observed. There were no problems with the running performance of the engine.

In addition, the same test was conducted with various thicknesses of the support, and 0.
It was confirmed that a thickness of 5 to 4.011 m, more preferably 1.0 to 4.9 μm, is optimal.

Comparative Example Using ink 1 obtained in Example 1, 2.0 μm PET
Hot melt processing using film on film,
An ink layer with a thickness of 4 to 5 μm is provided, and a thermal transfer material (II) is formed.
I got it. When this thermal transfer material (II) was printed under the same conditions as in Example 1, the PET film melted due to heat.
The heat application part was punctured and the tape broke, and the heating element and PET film were fused together, causing poor running.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the thermal transfer material of the present invention, it is possible to achieve compactness, and it is advantageous in terms of heating efficiency and energy saving. Furthermore, it does not cause problems such as destruction or fusion with the thermal head, and can fully meet the demands for higher integration and faster recording speeds in the future.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A heat-sensitive transfer material having a heat-melting ink layer on a support, wherein the support is an aromatic polyamide film having a thickness of 0.5 to 4.0 μm.