JPS63132092A - Thermal transfer material and thermal transfer recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a thermal transfer material which is excellent in color separation and gives a clear print having beautiful color tone, by a simple method wherein a first ink layer and a second ink layer at least are provided sequentially on a substrate from the substrate side and a yellow tone is given to the first ink layer. CONSTITUTION:A thermal transfer material 1 is formed by providing a first ink layer 3 and a second ink layer 4 sequentially on a substrate 2. The first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4 are provided by dispersing a coloring agent in a heat-fusing binder. The first ink layer 3 is made to contain a yellow coloring agent so that it be given a yellow color tone. A recording image 11a obtained when the second ink layer 41 is transferred selectively onto a substance 5 whereon recording is to be made has the color tone (e.g. blue) of the second ink layer 41. When the second ink layer 41 and the first ink layer 31 are transferred together onto the substance 5, on the other hand, the color tone (blue) of the second ink layer 41 and the color tone (yellow) of the first ink layer are synthesized, and thus bright and beautiful green is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a two-color thermal transfer material for transferring two-color recorded images onto a recording medium such as plain paper, and a thermal transfer recording method using the same. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer material that is capable of clear two-color recording without turbidity and is particularly suitable for multi-color recording of three or more colors.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY In addition to the general characteristics of the thermal transfer recording method that the equipment used is lightweight, compact, noiseless, and has excellent operability and maintainability, the thermal transfer recording method does not require colored processed paper. Furthermore, it has the feature of excellent durability of recorded images, and has been widely used recently.

This transfer recording method generally uses a heat-sensitive transfer material made by coating a sticker-shaped support with a heat-transferable ink consisting of a colorant dispersed in a heat-melting binder. The thermal transfer material is superimposed on the recording medium so that its thermal transferable ink layer is in contact with the recording medium, and heat is supplied from the support side of the thermal transfer material by a thermal head to transfer the molten ink layer onto the recording medium. By doing so, a transferred recorded image is formed on the recording medium according to the heat supply shape.

Furthermore, there is a strong market demand for two-color printing while taking advantage of the advantages of the thermal transfer recording method, and various techniques for obtaining two-color printing have been proposed.

Conventionally, as a method for printing in two colors on plain paper using a thermal transfer recording method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 148591/1983 discloses two heat-melting high-melting point printing methods in which different colorants are contained on a base material. Ink JIIA and low melting point ink layer B are laminated sequentially from the substrate side, and in the case of low heat application energy, only the low melting point ink layer B is transferred onto the plain paper, and in the case of high heat application energy, the heat melting ink layer A is transferred onto the plain paper. A two-color thermal transfer recording element has been disclosed which provides a two-color recorded image by transferring both of the two colors.

Furthermore, JP-A No. 59-64389 discloses a two-color thermal transfer ink in which an ink layer consisting of an ink that melts and leaches when heated and an ink that melts and peels off at a temperature higher than the melting and leaching temperature is provided on a base material. The sheet is disclosed.

However, with these methods in which the energy applied to the thermal head is changed in two stages, during high-temperature printing, printing quality is likely to deteriorate, such as "edging" or "tailing" due to the effect of heat. There was a drawback.

As a technique for solving this drawback, the present applicant previously proposed a recording method in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-298831.

In this recording method, at least first and second
By using a heat-sensitive transfer material provided with an ink layer, applying heat to the heat-sensitive transfer material, and then controlling the time for peeling off the heat-sensitive transfer material and the recording medium, the second ink layer can be selectively formed. Alternatively, there is a method in which both the first and second ink layers are transferred to the recording medium.

This recording method makes it possible to solve various problems such as r-fringing and tailing in printing as described above. However, even in such a new two-color recording method, the color tone of the ink layer of the thermal transfer material used for this method (especially the first
In terms of increasing the degree of freedom in the color tone of the ink layer, the superiority over conventional two-color printing technology was not necessarily sufficient.

That is, in these recording methods (the conventional two-color recording method described above and the new recording method described above), when a thermal transfer material in which the first and second ink layers are provided on a support is used, during printing, Either only the second ink layer is transferred, or both the first and second ink layers are transferred to the recording medium.

However, when both the first and second ink layers are transferred, it is inevitable that the color of the second ink will be slightly mixed with the color of the first ink layer, so it is difficult to obtain beautiful colors in this case. there were.

For this reason, conventionally, the hiding power of the first ink has been strengthened by making the second ink a light color and the first ink a dark color. In reality, when the first ink is black, it has a fairly good hiding power, so a nearly black print can be obtained, but when the second ink is red, it becomes a warm black; 2. If the ink is blue, it is inevitable that the ink will be a cold black color. Furthermore, when the first ink is a dark color other than black, it is more difficult to obtain a beautiful color due to insufficient hiding power.

In order to improve this, it is possible to increase the thickness of the first ink layer, but if the first ink layer is too thick,
Not only does the energy required for printing increase, but also the resolution of the print decreases, making it difficult to obtain good prints.Therefore, in the past, two-color In the case of printing, unless the first ink was black, a recorded image with beautiful colors could not actually be obtained.

This limitation on the color tone of the first ink layer is a major drawback, especially when applied to a device that uses multiple ink films capable of two-color printing and switches between them to obtain multicolor printing. Become.

In other words, even if two ink films are used, if the first ink in each ink film is black, 3
Only color will be obtained. Also, even if the color of the first ink layer is a color other than black, there will be two dark colors close to black,
The practical advantage of using two ink films is small.

In addition, when printing in three colors using an ink film capable of two-color printing and a single-color ink film, printing in black, which is usually used the most, can be achieved with a low-cost single-color ink film. It is practically desirable to obtain bright and vivid two-color printing with an ink film capable of two-color printing. However, when using a conventional ink film capable of two-color printing, (the first ink layer has to be dark) Therefore, it was not possible to obtain beautiful two-color printing (light color-light color), both of which had bright color tones.

The main purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional two-color printing method, and to provide a method of printing with good color separation and sharpness on plain paper using a simple method. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a heat-sensitive transfer material that provides printing with beautiful tones.

JJ111 As a result of intensive research, the inventors of the present invention found that rather than performing two-color recording by concealing the tone of the second ink layer as much as possible (as in conventional two-color thermal transfer materials), the first ink layer By using a color tone with extremely low hiding power, the second
It has been found that performing two-color recording by actively utilizing the color tone of the ink layer provides a clear color tone without turbidity or dullness, and is extremely effective in achieving the above object.

The thermal transfer material of the present invention is based on the above knowledge,
More specifically, at least a first ink layer and a second ink layer are sequentially provided on a support from the support side, and the first ink layer has a yellow tone. be.

On the other hand, the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention using the above-mentioned thermal transfer material includes: a thermal transfer material (A) comprising one or more thermal transferable ink layers provided on a support; Using a plurality of thermal transfer materials (B) in which at least a first ink IJ and a second ink layer are sequentially provided, and in which the first ink layer has a yellow tone; At least one ink layer of A) or (B) is brought into contact with the recording medium, and energy corresponding to the image signal is supplied to the thermal transfer material to produce the thermal transfer material (A) and/or the thermal transfer material.
Alternatively, by selectively transferring the ink layer of (B) onto the recording medium, the thermal transfer materials (A) and (B) are transferred onto the recording medium.
) is characterized in that it selectively forms a color image consisting of at least one color obtained from the ink layer.

Here, in the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention having the above configuration, as long as a transfer recorded image (of three or more colors) can be formed, the recording medium of the ink layer of the thermal transfer material (A) or (B) It does not matter whether the contact with the heat-sensitive transfer material and the application of energy to the heat-sensitive transfer material occur before or after the time.

By using the thermal transfer material of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, even when the first and 'fS2 ink layers are transferred onto a recording medium, the second ink layer can be adjusted based on the spectral reflection customization of the first ink layer. Since the color tone is not subject to incomplete concealment and is subtractively mixed with the color tone of the first ink layer in a form close to the ideal, a stable and clear color tone can be obtained.

The heat-sensitive transfer material of the present invention is particularly applicable to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 60-2988.
When the adhesion force between the ink layers (or between the ink layer and the support) is adopted as in No. 31, even clearer 2
Gives a color recorded image.

The reason why such an effect is obtained is estimated as follows.

That is, the thermal transfer material of the present invention in the above aspect provides a two-color recorded image by controlling the separation time from the recording medium after applying energy (not by controlling the amount of applied energy), so it is possible to form a good second ink layer. The first ink layer is transferred to the recording medium in a covering manner, and the first ink layer is transferred to the recording medium in a covering manner. - It is presumed that this is because mixing between the second ink layers is suppressed, and additive color mixture (mixing of reflected light) between the first ink and the second ink is suppressed to an extremely low level.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings as necessary. In the following descriptions, "%" is used to express quantitative ratio.
” and “parts” are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the thickness direction showing a basic aspect of the heat-sensitive transfer material of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention includes a first ink 113 and a second ink 114 sequentially provided on a support 2.

As the support 2, conventionally known films and papers can be used as they are, such as films of relatively heat-resistant plastics such as polyester, polycarbonate, triacetyl cellulose, polyamide, polyimide, cellophane or parchment paper, Condenser paper or the like can be suitably used. The thickness of the support 2 is 1 to 1 when considering a thermal head as a heat source during thermal transfer.
The thickness is desirably about 5 μm, but there is no particular limitation if a heat source such as a laser beam that can selectively heat the thermal transfer layer is used.

On the other hand, the first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4 on the support 2 are formed by dispersing a colorant in a heat-melting binder (this does not mean that the colorant is in a dissolved state).

In the present invention, the first ink layer 3 has a yellow color tone by containing a yellow colorant.

"Yellow tone" here refers to pure yellow (i.e.
Not only does it have a color tone that almost completely absorbs light with a wavelength of 400 to 500 nm and almost completely reflects light with a wavelength of 500 to 600 nm, but even if it has some other color tones, it is useful for practical purposes (other colors). Subtractive color mixing with a coloring agent) It also includes a yellowish color tone that can be equated with pure yellow.

More specifically, this "yellow tone" preferably indicates the reflection density in a color separation filter as described below.

That is, the first ink N3 containing the above-mentioned yellow colorant
is a layer with approximately the same thickness as when used in an actual thermal transfer material 1 (for example, an ink film), and the density by each filter of red filter (R), green filter <a>, and blue filter (B) is 0. Density when transferred onto a recording material (for example, high-quality paper) of 0.05 or less (
It is preferable that DY, D, 4, DC) satisfy the following conditions.

Dy>D grade +0.1 Dy>Dc+0.1 More preferable conditions for these concentrations are: D, >0.6 D, 4<0.45 Da<0.25 It is.

Here, the above DY, D1.1, and Dc are respectively DY - 4.1 degrees of yellow, that is, the reflection when using a blue filter! ! : A degree, D, ; Magenta density, that is, reflection density when using a green filter; Dc Density of nitrogen, that is, reflection density when using red filter.

It is.

For such concentration measurements, for example, a reflection densitometer RD514 model or RD517 model manufactured by Macbeth Co., Ltd. can be used. These RD514 and RD517 reflection densitometers are equipped with Wratten gelatin filters (#47 blue, #47 blue,
25 red, #58 green) are used.

Note that the above-mentioned reflection density is such that a thermal transfer material formed by providing only the first ink N3 on the support 2 (for example, an ink film not provided with the second ink layer 4) is
, G, and B filters can also be determined as the density in a state in which the density is stacked on a white material (for example, high-quality paper) whose density is 0.05 or less. In this case as well, the reflection density DY,
The preferred conditions for D, , and DC are the same as those described above.

As the ink film without the second ink layer, a film may be used after forming the first ink layer 3 by coating according to a normal manufacturing process and before coating the second ink. Using the completed ink film 1, the second ink layer 4 may be selectively transferred to the recording medium in the same manner as in a normal printing process, and then the density may be measured using the remaining ink film.

However, if the support of the ink film is not colorless, it is not possible to measure the density as described above using an ink film without a second ink layer and overlaying this film on a white material.

As the yellow coloring agent used in the first ink layer 3 having a yellow tone as described above, conventionally known dyes and pigments can be used without particular restriction.For example, the dyes and pigments shown below can be used. It is possible to use (as appropriate, in combination of two or more types as necessary).

C, 1, Acid Yellow'
) 1 (C,1,10316)C,1,Acid YELLOW 3 (C,1,
47005) C, 1, Acid Y
ELLOW) 7 (C,1,56205)C,1,
Acid YELLOW 11
(C,1,18820)C,1,Acid Yellow (A
cid YELLOW) 17 ((:, 1.189
55) C, 1, Acid YELL
OMI) 23 ((:, 1.19140)C, 1, Acid Yellow (Acid YELLOW) 25 (
C,1,18835) C,1, Acid Yellow (Ac
id YELLOW) 29 (C, 1, 18900)
C, 1, Acid Yel, LOW
) 36 (C, 1, 13065) C, T, Acid Yellow (Ac1.d YELLOW) 311 ((:
, 1.25135) C,1, Acid Yellow (Aci
d YELLOW) 40 (C,1,18950)C
,1,Acid YELLOW
42 (C, 1, 22910) C, X, Acid YELLOW 44 (C, 1, 23
900) C, 1, Acid YEL
LOW) 76 ((:, 1.18850>C,!, Acid YELLOW) !t8
(C, 1, 14005) C, L Acid Yellow (Ac
id YELLOW) 99 (C, 1, 13900)
Acidic dyes such as C, 1, Basic YELL
OW) 1 (C, 1, 49005) c, r, Basic YELLOW 2 (C, t
, 41000)C,! , Basic Yellow (Bas
Basic dyes such as ic YELLOW) 11 ((:, 1.48055): C, 1, Direct YEL
LOW) 1 (C, 1, 22250) c, r, Direct Yellow (Direct YELLOW) 8 (C
, 1, 13920) C, 1, Direct Yellow (D
direct YELL(Ilri 11 (C,!,40
000)C,! , Direct Yellow
YELLOIII) 12 (C, 1, 24895)
C, 1, Direct YEL
LOW) 24 (C, 1, 22010) C, 1, Direct Yellow (IW)
26(C,1,25300)C,1,Direct YELLOW>27(C,1,1
3950) c, r, Direct Yellow (Direc
t YELLOW) 28 (C, 1, 1955S)C
,1, Direct Yellow
OW)33(C,r,29020)C,! , Direct Yellow ([l], reCt YELLOW) 44 (
C, 1, 29000) C, 1, Direct Yellow (
Direct YELLOW) 50 (C, 1, 29
Direct dyes such as C, 1, Solvent YE
LLOW) 2 (C, 1, 11020) C, 1, Solvent Yellow (Solvent YELLOW) 8
(C, 1, 11390) (:, !, Solvent YELL (111) 14 (C, 1
,12055)C,! , Solvent Yellow (Sol
vent YELLOW) 15 (C, 1, 1882
0)C,! , Solvent Yellow
YELLOW)16(C,1,127QO)C,! ,Solvent YELLOW
19 (C, 1,1390OA) C, 1, Solvent Yellow (Solvent YELLOW) 21 (C
-1,18690)C,1,Solvent Yellow (S
olvent YELLOW) 33 (C, 1,470Q
O) C, 1, Solvent Yellow (SOIVent
Pigment YE
LLOW) l(C,1,11680)C,+, Pigment Yellow (Pigment YELLOW) 2
(C, 1, 11730) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (Pigment YELLOW) 3 (C, 1, 11
710) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (['igme
nt YELLOW) 4(C,1,11665)C,
1, Pigment YELL
OW) 5 (C, 1, 11680) c, r, Pigment Yellow (Pigment YELLOW) 6 (C
, 1, 111370) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (
Pigment YELLOW) 7 (C, 1,127
80) C, 1, Pigment Yellow
YELLOW)10(C,1,12710)C,1,
Pigment YELL(V
) 11 (C,1,10325)C,! , Pigment YELLOW 12 (C
, 1, 21090) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (P
igment YELLOW) 13 (C, 1, 2110
0) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (Pigment
YELLOW) 14 (C, 1, 21095) C,! , Pigment YELLO II
I) 15 (C, 1, 21220) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (Pigment YELLOW) 16 (
C, 1, 20040) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (
Pigment YELLOW) 17 (C, 1, 2
1105) C, 1, Pigment Yellow (Pigme
nt YELLOW)23(C,1,60520)C,
1, Pigment YELL
Organic pigments such as OW) 65 (C, 1, 11740); Inorganic pigments such as cadmium yellow chrome yellow, yellow lead; etc.

On the other hand, as the colorant to be contained in the second ink layer 4, known dyes and pigments used in the printing and recording fields (excluding black ones) may be used without particular limitation (two or more types may be combined as necessary). ) is available. The coloring agent is preferably contained in an amount of 2 to 500 parts based on 100 parts of the heat-melting binder.

*2 The color tone of the colorant contained in ink FI4 is as follows:
More specifically, blue (combined with yellow to make green)
, or silver (combined with yellow to become gold), etc. are preferable from the viewpoint of obtaining two distinct colors.

FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are schematic side sectional views of a typical aspect of a recorded image formed on a recording medium using the thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention as described above.

Referring to FIG. 2(a), the recorded image 11a when the second ink layer 41 is selectively transferred to the recording medium 5 is shown in the upper part of the drawing (
When viewed from the surface of the recording medium 5 to which the second ink layer 41 has been transferred, the color tone of the second ink layer 41 (for example, blue)
becomes.

On the other hand, with reference to FIG. 2(b), when the recorded image transferred to the recording medium 5 by both the second ink layer 41 and the first ink layer 31 is viewed from above, the color tone of the second ink layer 41 is (
The yellow color) and the color tone (yellow) of the first ink layer are combined to obtain a bright and beautiful green color.

In this case, if the first ink layer 31 has a color tone other than yellow, the first ink layer 31 will incompletely hide the color of the second ink layer 41, so in the case of FIG. 2(b) However, due to the stacking of these ink layers, the color becomes dark and cloudy (for example, if blue is used as the second ink layer and green is used as the first ink layer, the color shown in Figure 2 (b) In the case of the transferred image 11b, only a dark green tone is obtained).

As the heat-melting binder constituting the first and second ink layers together with the colorant, binders conventionally used in heat transferable inks can be used as they are.

Examples of such heat-melting binders include natural waxes such as spermaceti wax, beeswax, lanolin, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, montan wax, and ceresin wax; petroleum waxes such as paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax; and oxidized waxes. Synthetic waxes such as , ester wax, low molecular weight polyethylene, and Fischer-Tropsch wax; Higher aliphatic acids such as lauric acid, myristic acid, valmitic acid, stearic acid, and behenic acid; Higher alcohols such as stearyl alcohol and behenyl alcohol; Fatty acids such as sucrose Esters such as esters and fatty acid esters of sorbitan; amides such as oleylamide; waxes consisting of polyolefin resins, polyamide resins, polyester resins, epoxy resins, polyurethane resins,
Polyacrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, cellulose resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, petroleum resin,
Natural or synthetic resins such as phenolic resins, polystyrene resins, and vinyl acetate resins; nilastomers such as natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, and chloroprene rubber; and the like resins are used.

The above-mentioned heat-melting binders may be used in combination of two or more types as required, and may also be used in combination with so-called liquid rubbers such as polyisobutylene and bolybdenum, or plasticizers,
It is also possible to adjust the supercooling property, melt viscosity, adhesive strength, degree of wood-philicity-hydrophobicity, etc. by adding additives such as oil agents and surfactants.

The first and second thermal transfer inks are composed of the above-mentioned hot-melt binder and colorant (additives added as necessary), and the melting point or softening point of these inks is 60 to 180. Preferably it is ℃.

In a preferred embodiment of the thermal transfer material of the present invention, the adhesive force (F2) between the first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4 and the first
It is preferable that the magnitude relationship between the viewing force (Fl) between the ink layer 3 and the support body 2 can be reversed at relatively high temperatures and at relatively low temperatures, but as shown in FIG. When the temperature is relatively high, Fl>F2, and when the temperature is relatively low, F
It is more preferable that i<F2.

In order to realize the relationship between the adhesive forces F, F2 as shown in FIG. 3, in the configuration shown in FIG. The first ink layer 3 is one containing 50 parts or more of the above-mentioned waxes in 100 parts of the binder component (preferably, the above-mentioned resins are contained in 100 parts of the binder component), and the first ink layer 3 has a small change in adhesive strength due to temperature. 50 parts or more) may be used.

In order to more easily realize the preferable relationship of adhesive strength as described above, a first adhesive layer 6 may be provided between the support 2 and the first ink layer 3, as shown in FIG. good. By providing such a first adhesive layer 6, the material for the first ink layer 3 can be selected more widely, which is advantageous for adjusting print quality.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a second adhesive layer 7 is provided between the first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4. If the material of the second adhesive layer 7 is made to have similar characteristics to the second ink layer (in the case of FIG. 1), the second ink layer 4 (as explained in FIG. It is also possible to use a material that can increase the adhesion to the recording medium (for example, the same material as the first ink layer in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1), which is even more advantageous in improving printing quality. Become.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a third adhesive layer 8 may be provided on the second ink F14 (on the surface facing the recording medium).

Providing this third adhesive F18 is particularly advantageous, for example, when performing two-color printing on a recording medium with low surface smoothness.

The above-mentioned first adhesive layer 6, second contact layer 7 and third adhesive layer F
18 is 2f as needed! A combination of the above can be provided. These adhesive layers mainly consist of the above-mentioned hot-melt binder.

When the above-mentioned first adhesive layer 6, second adhesive layer 7, and third adhesive layer 8 are provided, the melting point or softening point of the ink constituting the first ink layer and the second ink layer is within the range of 60 to 60 as described above.
It is also possible to form a layer that does not melt without being limited to the preferred temperature range of 180°C.

In the thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention, the total thickness of the ink layer (or adhesive layer) on the support 2 is desirably 20 μm or less (more preferably 1 to 10 μm). Further, the thickness of the first ink layer 3 and the second ink N4 is 0.5 to 10 μm, respectively.
The range of m is preferable, and the first adhesive layer 6 and the second adhesive layer 7
The thickness of the third adhesive layer 8 is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 5 μm.

In manufacturing the thermal transfer material of the present invention, the materials constituting each of the layers described above are used; for example, hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane, toluene, and xylene; alcohol solvents such as methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol; diethyl ether; Ether solvents such as tetrahydrofuran and diethylene glycol diethyl ether: Ester solvents such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate A coating solution is prepared by dissolving a second grade binder and mixing with an organic solvent, and each layer is coated in sequence. .

Alternatively, after mixing the materials constituting each layer, they may be heated and melted to perform a so-called hot melt coating in the molten state.

Furthermore, after adding a dispersant such as a surfactant to the materials constituting each layer to form an aqueous emulsion, these emulsions may be mixed and coated.

Furthermore, using these methods, it is also possible to coat each layer using a different method.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the two-color printing method using the above thermal transfer material will be described. In addition, below, we will explain the case where the most typical thermal head is used as the heat source.
In addition, in the following explanation, the thermal transfer material 1 having the structure shown in FIG. Thermal transfer in which the adhesive force F2 between the first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4 (relatively large change with temperature) changes over time (after energy application) as shown in FIG. 3. Use Material 1.

Specifically, as the thermal transfer recording device, a device as shown in FIG. 7, which is a schematic sectional view in the thickness direction of the thermal transfer material, is preferably used. Referring to FIG. 7, the thermal transfer material 1 is unwound from the unwinding core 9a and wound around the winding core 9b.
0 (so that the second ink layer faces the recording medium 5) and is brought into pressure contact with the recording medium 5 on the platen 12,
Patterned heat is applied to the thermal transfer material 1 from the thermal head 10.

Immediately after this heat application, the terminal end 10a of the thermal head 10
When the recording medium 5 and the thermal transfer material 1 are peeled off, (Fl>
F2) only the second ink layer is transferred to the recording medium 5.

On the other hand, the peeling control member 13 is moved in the direction of the arrow 8 and placed at the position 13a (dotted line), the recording medium 5 and the thermal transfer material 1 are brought into pressure contact in the same way as above, and the thermal head 10 is used to form a pattern. When the peeling control member 13 is peeled off at the position (13a) after applying heat of
(Because Fl<F2) both the first ink and second ink layers are transferred to the recording medium 5.

Among the members shown in FIG. 7, the thermal transfer material 1, the unwinding core 9a, the winding core 9b, the thermal head 1
0 and the peeling control member 13 are attached to the carriage 1
4 and work the day shift in the direction of arrow B.

The thermal transfer material of the present invention is also preferably used in an apparatus capable of mounting two thermal transfer materials, as shown in a schematic perspective view in FIG.

Next, the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 8, ribbon cartridges 15a and 15 each contain one ribbon-shaped thermal transfer material 1.
b are stacked in two tiers and mounted on a movable base 16 that can move nine times up and down (in the direction shown by arrow C). As shown in the figure, movable platform 1
When 6 is on the lower side (ribbon cartridge 15b side),
The ribbon cartridge t5a is used for printing, while when the movable base 16 moves upward (towards the ribbon cartridge 15a), the ribbon cartridge 15b is used for printing.

When printing, the thermal head 10 is placed on the platen 12.
The thermal transfer material 1 is pressed against the upper recording medium 5 through the thermal transfer material 1, and the thermal transfer material 1 is heated in a pattern, and at the same time, the carriage 14 is moved to the right (in the direction of arrow B). When only the second ink is transferred to the recording medium 5, the peeling control member 13 is kept in a non-contact state with respect to the recording medium 5, whereas when both the first ink and the second ink are transferred, the peeling control member 13 is kept in a non-contact state with respect to the recording medium 5. The member 13 together with the thermal head 10 (
(via the thermal transfer material 1) against the recording medium 5.

As described above, ribbon cartridges 15a and 15b
The heat-sensitive transfer material 1 contained in each can print in two colors, making it possible to print clearly in a total of four colors.

In the above description of the recording method, an embodiment of the present invention in which two thermal transfer materials are used has been described. However, in the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention, at least one of the two or more thermal transfer materials used is It is sufficient to use the above-mentioned two-color thermal transfer material 1 (thermal transfer material of the present invention), and the composition of the ink layer (1 layer, aFIi) or color tone (light color, dark color) of other thermal transfer materials may be changed. There are no particular restrictions.

Since the two-color thermal transfer material 1 can provide a bright-light two-color recorded image, it can be used, for example, as the other thermal transfer material mentioned above! Even when an ink layer having a NJ (for example, black) ink layer is used, clear three-color recording of bright color-light color-black is possible.

Further, according to the present invention, there are great advantages in producing heat-sensitive transfer materials of various recording colors. For example, silver, gold, blue, green 4
When producing thermal transfer materials that give color printing, conventionally the above 4f! It was necessary to prepare coating liquids of different colors and apply them to different supports to make four thermal transfer materials.
According to the present invention, the coating liquid for the first ink layer 3 is yellow;
A total of three types of coating liquids, silver and blue, were prepared as coating liquids for the second ink layer 4, and yellow-silver or yellow-blue inks were sequentially applied to the two wooden supports. By using two thermal transfer materials, it is possible to obtain a thermal transfer material that provides four colors: silver, gold, blue, and green. Furthermore, in the manufacturing process, the process up to the first ink application process can be shared among thermal transfer materials that provide different tones (because the same yellow ink can be used as the first ink). There are advantages.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a heat-sensitive transfer material in which at least a first ink layer and a second ink layer are provided on a support, and the first ink layer has a yellow tone. A material and a multicolor thermal transfer recording method using the same are provided.

By using the thermal transfer material of the present invention, it is possible to print brightly on plain paper, etc. (for example, by simply changing the time period from supplying energy in a pattern to peeling off the thermal transfer material from the recording medium).
Capable of vivid two-color printing.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples.

In the present invention, the melt viscosity and the number average molecular weight of polyethylene oxide were measured by the following measuring methods.

[Molecular weight measurement method]

VPO (Vapor Pressure Osmome)
For example, using benzene as a solvent, polyethylene oxide is added at 0.2 to 1.0 g/100 using the try method.
Dissolve in m1 benzene at several different concentrations (C), measure each osmotic pressure (π/C), and plot the concentration C - osmotic pressure π/C. Osmotic pressure at infinite dilution (π/c). is read from this plot, and the number average molecular weight Mn is determined from the formula (π/C)o=RT/Mn.

(Melt viscosity measurement method) Melt viscosity is measured using a rotational viscometer (E type).

Inu' Shi1 Top Coating Liquid A> The volume ratio, particle size, and softening point of the dispersion all indicate the values for the solid content. ) Coating liquid A was prepared by thoroughly mixing each component of the above formulation.

This coating liquid A was coated on a polyethylene terephthalate film (hereinafter referred to as PET film) with a thickness of 6 μm.
It was dried at 0° C. to form a first adhesive layer with a thickness of 1 μm.

Coating B> was coated on the previously formed first adhesive layer and dried at 80°C to form a 2 μm thick 'tS1 ink layer.

Coating liquid C> was applied and dried at 60° C. to form a second adhesive layer with a thickness of 1 μm.

Coating liquid D> was coated on the previously formed second adhesive layer and dried at 80°C to form a second ink layer with a thickness of 2 μm, thereby producing the thermal transfer material (1) of the present invention. I got it.

Next, the above thermal transfer material (I) was placed in Ibstar 6 manufactured by Canon ■ to perform printing.

Referring to FIG. 7, as the thermal head io, a special ROHM head with a distance of 350 μm from the center of the heat generating part (not shown) to the thermal head end 10a is used, and the thermal head 1o and the thermal transfer material ribbon 1 The carriage 14 carrying the was moved in the direction of arrow B at a moving speed of 50 mm/sec.

In this manner, heat is applied in a pattern from the thermal head 1o to the thermal transfer material (1) (pulse width 0, 7 m).
5ec), thermal transfer material 1 was applied at approximately 511511c.
When it was peeled off from the recording material 5 (high-quality paper with Bekk smoothness of 200 seconds), a clear blue recorded image 11a (FIG. 2(a)) was obtained by the transfer of the second ink onto the recording material S. Ta.

On the other hand, a peeling control member 13 for delaying peeling is placed at a position 511111 (1 m5 mm) downstream in the transfer direction of the thermal transfer material 1 from the terminal end 10a of the thermal head (position 13a). After applying heat in a pattern to the thermal transfer material 1 from the thermal head 10 in the same manner as above, when the thermal transfer material 1 was peeled off from the recording medium 5 at approximately 100 m5ec, a clear image was obtained due to the transfer of the first and second inks. A green recorded image 11b (FIG. 2(b)) was obtained.

Both of the recorded images 11a and llb had good printing quality.

52 itflllu Coating liquid E> did.

A thermal transfer material was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that this coating liquid E was used instead of the coating liquid in Example 1 to form a second ink layer.

When this thermal transfer material (1■) was used for printing in the same manner as in Example 1, a clear silver print 11a was obtained at a fast peeling timing (approximately 7 m5ec>), and a clear silver print 11a was obtained at a slow peeling timing (approximately! OOm5ec). Clear gold printing 1
1b was obtained. The quality of all prints was good.

Comparative Example The first ink layer was formed by using coating liquid F obtained by sufficiently mixing the components of the following formulation in place of coating liquid B in Example 1.
A thermal transfer material (II!) was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1.

When the black coating was printed at night F 〉, when the peeling timing was early, good blue prints were obtained as in Example 1, but when the peeling timing was late, only prints with a dark, dull dark purple tone were obtained. , the difference from the above blue printing was not sufficient.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view (Jr $ direction) showing a basic Ff 41 formation example of the thermal transfer material of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing one aspect of a recorded image formed on a recording medium. Cross section, 3rd
The figure is a graph showing one aspect of changes in adhesive force between ink layers, Figures 4 to 6 are schematic cross-sectional views showing other examples of layer configurations of the thermal transfer material of the present invention, and Figures 7 and 8 are: Each,
1 is a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of a thermal transfer recording device used when performing two-color recording or four-color recording. 1... Thermal transfer material 2... Support 3... First ink layer 4...'fS2 ink layer 5... Recorded body 9a... Unwinding core 9b... Winding core 10... Thermal head 11a, 1fb = Recorded image 12... Platen 13... Peeling control member 14... Carriage 15a, 15b... Ribbon cartridge 16... Movable base Ω'': Fig. 1 Figure 1 Figure 4 Figure 5r:gI 6v! U Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least a first ink layer and a second ink layer are sequentially provided on a support from the support side, and the first ink layer has a yellow tone. Thermal transfer material. 2. A thermal transfer material (A) comprising one or more thermal transferable ink layers provided on a support; and at least a first ink layer and a second ink layer sequentially provided on the support from the support side. and a thermal transfer material (B) in which the first ink layer has a yellow tone; using a plurality of thermal transfer materials; The heat-sensitive transfer material (A) is brought into contact with the body and energy is supplied to the heat-sensitive transfer material according to the image signal.
and/or by selectively transferring the ink layer of (B) to the recording medium, at least one color obtained from the ink layers of the thermal transfer materials (A) and (B) is transferred onto the recording medium. A thermal transfer recording method characterized by selectively forming a color image.