JPS6280063A - Transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain high-quality and durable printed matter regardless of the type of recording paper by transferring ink of transfer paper to film with the heat of a thermal head, overlapping the film with a recording paper and transferring the ink to the recording paper. CONSTITUTION:A thermal head 13 is heated at a temperatures above the thermal melting temperature of ink 11a on a transfer paper 11, e.g. a temperature slightly higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink 11a, and the amount of the ink 11a corresponding to a prearranged signal is transferred as 11b to the surface of film 14. Then if the film 14 with ink 11b reaches the position of a heating roller 16, a recording paper 18 wound around a recording paper-winding roller 17 and the ink 11b adhering to the film 14 are pressed against each other by the recording paper-winding roller 17. The heating roller 16 is heated at temperatures considerably higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink 11b, so that the whole ink 11b of the film 14 is accurately transferred as 11c to the recording paper 18.

Description

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

[Prior art and its problems]

The recording principle of a thermal transfer printing device used in office automation equipment, video equipment, etc. is as shown in FIG. The transfer paper 1 and the recording paper 2 are stacked so that the ink 1a of the paper 1 is in contact with the recording paper 2, and then the transfer paper 1 and the recording paper 2 are fed between the thermal head 3 and the platen roller 4, and the thermal head 3 is inserted into the polyester film of the transfer paper 1. It is pressed against the platen roller 4 from the surface side, and in this state, a predetermined printing signal current is passed through the heating resistor of the thermal head 3 to generate heat, thereby transferring the ink 1a of the transfer paper 1 to the recording paper 2. things are being done.

However, in such transfer printing, transfer is performed by the thermal head 3 coming into contact with the base film surface (the surface opposite to the ink 1a) of the transfer paper 1 and heating it. Therefore, unless the transfer paper 1 is thin, its thermal efficiency is poor, the transfer rate is poor, and only transferred prints with low resolution can be obtained.

However, saying that the thickness of the transfer paper 1 must be made thinner means not only that the thickness of the base film must be made thinner, but also that the thickness of the ink 1a must be made thinner. This makes it impossible to increase the thickness of the ink 1a and use the transfer paper multiple times.

Further, although the temperature of the thermal head 3 heated to melt the ink 1a on the transfer paper 1 is higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink, the transfer cannot be performed well at a temperature much higher than this thermal melting temperature. In particular, the temperature needs to be close to the thermal melting temperature of the ink 1a. That is, ink 1a
Thermal head 3 to a temperature much higher than the thermal melting temperature of
When the ink 1a is heated, the ink 1a in parts that are not originally needed will also be thermally melted, and the resolution of the transfer print will be that much worse, making it impossible to perform good transfer printing.

Also, the heating temperature of the thermal head 3 is higher than that of the ink 1 on the transfer paper 1.
The above-mentioned constraint that the temperature must be close to the thermal melting temperature of must be thin, so that the aforementioned disadvantages occur synergistically.

The fact that the transfer paper has to be thin means not only that the transfer paper cannot be used multiple times, but also makes the production of the transfer paper 1 that much more difficult and expensive. There are also drawbacks that result in high costs for transfer printing.

Also, the heating temperature of the thermal head 3 is higher than that of the ink 1 on the transfer paper 1.
The fact that it is only slightly higher than the thermal melting temperature of a means that the viscosity of the thermally molten ink is relatively high. Therefore, when recording paper with a rough surface is used, , the thermally fused ink does not adhere well to the recording paper, resulting in poor transfer printing. In other words, the recording paper used for transfer printing must have a good surface smoothness, which also has the drawback of increasing the cost of transfer printing. There is also a drawback that it cannot be done.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and includes a platen roller, a thermal head, a transfer paper supplied between the platen roller and the thermal head, and a transfer paper supplied between the platen roller and the thermal head. A heating element is provided between the platen roller and the thermal head, and a film having a smoothness of 100 seconds or more and a thickness of 10 μm or less according to the Beck test method (JISP-8119) is supplied between the platen roller and the thermal head. The transfer paper and the film are supplied so that the ink on the transfer paper overlaps the film, and the ink on the transfer paper is transferred to the film by the heat of the thermal head, and then the recording paper is placed on the film to which the ink has been transferred. The present invention provides a transfer printing device in which the ink that has been transferred to the film by the heating element is transferred to the recording paper by superimposing the two.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of one embodiment of a transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, 11 is a transfer paper made by thickly coating ink lla on a base such as polyester film or Mylar paper, lid is the supply side roll of this transfer paper 11, and lie is the take-up side roll. be.

12 is a platen roller, 13 is a thermal head,
The transfer paper 11 being sent from the supply roll lid to the take-up roll 11e is moved around the platen roller 1 so that the ink lla is on the thermal head 13 side, that is, the base side of the transfer paper 11 is in contact with the platen roller 12.
2 and the thermal head 13.

14 is a film made of polyester or the like which has extremely high smoothness as determined by the Beck test method (JISP-8119) for 100 seconds or more, and has a thickness of 10 μm or less. From the supply roll 14a to the take-up roll 14 in the same manner as the supply method.
It is being sent to b.

Note that the film 14 fed out from the supply roll 14a
is the ink lla surface of the transfer paper 11 and the thermal head 13.
The paper is then guided by a guide roller 15, passes between a heating roller 16 and a recording paper winding roller 17 having a large diameter, and is wound onto a winding side roll 14b.

Further, 18 is a recording paper.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention.

Comparing the transfer printing device of this embodiment with the transfer printing device of the previous embodiment, the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 1
Transfer paper 11 and film 14 sent between
In contrast, the difference is whether the thermal head 13 contacts the base side of the transfer paper 11 or the film 14 side, and since the basic technical idea is the same, the details will be omitted.

However, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG.
In other words, the thermal head 1 comes into contact with the thermal head 1.
3 transmits heat from the surface side of the ink lla of the transfer paper 11, so it is more preferable than the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that there is no restriction on the thickness of the base of the transfer paper 11 and the thickness of the ink lla. be.

When the transfer printing device is configured as described above, in order to perform transfer printing on the recording paper 18, the transfer paper 1 fed between the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 13 must be
1 and the film 14 are sandwiched and pressed between the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 13 so that the ink lla of the transfer paper 11 and the film 14 overlap, and in this state, a predetermined signal current is applied to the heating resistor of the thermal head 130. Then, the thermal head 13 is heated to a temperature approximately 5 to 20 degrees Celsius higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink lla on the transfer paper 11, that is, a temperature slightly higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink lla, and the thermal head 13 is heated to a temperature that is slightly higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink lla on the transfer paper 11. ink lla film 14
transfer printing as llb on the surface of

Then, as the transfer from the transfer paper 11 to the film 14 progresses, the film 14 runs, and when the film 14 with the ink Ilb reaches the position of the heating roller 16, it is wound around the recording paper winding roller 17. The recording paper 18 and the ink llb adhering to the film 14 are pressed together by the heating roller 16 and the recording paper winding roller 17, and the heating roller 16
) is heated to a temperature that is, for example, 30 to 50 degrees Celsius higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink llb, that is, considerably higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink llb. Then, the ink is transferred and printed onto the recording paper 18 as ink llc, and high-quality printed matter can be obtained.

That is, in the above-mentioned transfer printing, at the stage where the ink lla is transferred from the transfer paper 11 to the film 14, the film 14 has a thickness of 10 μm or less and is smooth according to the Peck test method (JISP-8119). Gender is 100
Since the ink lla is extremely smooth, as in seconds or more, the ink lla is transferred to the film 14 with high resolution, and after the ink lla on the transfer paper 11 is transferred to the film 14 as the ink 11b. , when this ink llb is transferred to the recording paper 18, the heating temperature of the heating roller 16 is considerably higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink llb (lla), so the recording paper 18
Even if the surface of the ink is rough, the viscosity of the ink llb when melted is low, so the ink llc on the recording paper 18 is
This allows you to obtain transfer prints with good adhesion and high quality.

Furthermore, when transferring the ink llb to the recording paper 18,
Even if the temperature of the heating roller 16 is considerably higher than the melting temperature of the ink llb (lla), the recording paper 18
Since the ink llb is not transferred to the position of the film 14 corresponding to the position that should not be transferred to the recording paper, the excess ink is not transferred to the recording paper, and therefore the quality of the transferred printed matter is not degraded. There isn't.

In the case of the transfer printing apparatus according to the embodiment shown in FIG.
Since the heat is transmitted from the surface side of the ink 11a and the ink 11a is heated and melted, the heating temperature of the thermal head 13 during transfer printing is lower than that of the ink 11a.
The temperature is only slightly higher than the thermal melting temperature of la, therefore, it is easy to thermally melt the ink lla to the parts that should not be thermally melted, and only the ink lla of the target area is thermally melted, which is a big advantage. The resulting transfer print has high resolution and is of high quality.

In addition, since the thermal head 13 heats the ink 11a of the transfer paper 11 from the surface side, there is no problem even if the transfer paper 11 is thick. Therefore, it is possible to increase the thickness of the ink 11a, and in such a case In this case, the transfer paper can be used multiple times, and the cost of transfer printing becomes lower accordingly. Moreover, thick transfer paper can be provided technically, and from this point of view as well, the cost required for transfer printing is low.

Further, since the ink lla surface side of the transfer paper 11 is heated and melted by the thermal head 13, the thermal efficiency during transfer is good, the transfer efficiency is improved, and transfer printing with good resolution is possible.

Although not specifically mentioned in the above embodiments, the transfer to the recording paper 18 may be performed after all the transfers to the film 14 have been completed, or
Of course, the transfer to the recording paper 18 may be started before the transfer to the recording paper 4 is completely completed.

〔effect〕

Since the transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, printed matter with good transfer printing characteristics can be obtained.
In other words, when melting the ink on the transfer paper, the heating temperature can be slightly higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink, and as a result, the ink does not melt in areas that should not be thermally melted. Transfer printing becomes possible with high resolution. Furthermore, when transferring from a transfer-printed film with high resolution to recording paper, it can be done at ;1°C, which is considerably higher than the thermal melting temperature of the ink, so even if the surface of the recording paper is rough, In addition, even when color printing is performed by overlapping, such as multicolor printing, it is possible to obtain printed matter that has good ink adhesion, low ink unevenness, and high quality and durability. This method has the advantage that the cost of transfer printed matter can be reduced because the restriction that the recording paper must be of a specific type is relaxed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are explanatory views showing the outline of each embodiment of a transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a conventional transfer printing apparatus. 11... Transfer paper, lla, llb, 1lc-ink,
12... platen roller, 13... thermal head, 14... film, 15... guide roller, 16
... Heating roller, 17 ... Recording paper winding roller, 1
8... Recording paper. f 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A platen roller, a thermal head, a transfer paper supplied between the platen roller and the thermal head, and a smoothing test method (JISP-8119) supplied between the platen roller and the thermal head. a film having a heat resistance of 100 seconds or more and a thickness of 10 μm or less, and a heating element, and the transfer paper and the heating element are arranged between the platen roller and the thermal head so that the ink on the transfer paper overlaps the film. After the ink on the transfer paper is transferred to the film by the heat of the thermal head, a recording paper is placed on the film to which the ink has been transferred, and the ink is transferred to the film by the heating body. What is claimed is: 1. A transfer printing device, characterized in that the transfer printing device transfers the image onto recording paper.